


Monsters

by GenKay



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark, Gen, Post-Season/Series 02 AU, Psychological Horror, Psychological Trauma, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 55,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26392549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GenKay/pseuds/GenKay
Summary: He was the villain of their story. The dragon the good guys had to slay. The monster at the end of their book. But there was something they’d forgotten and he was going to make sure they remembered - monsters weren’t born, they were made.
Comments: 25
Kudos: 67





	1. Kreese I

This… was not going as well as he’d hoped.

Kreese stood over his students with his arms folded as he watched Hawk send Mitch reeling with a kick to the stomach. 

“Finish him.” He growled, annoyed. He shouldn’t even have to say it by now.

Hawk still held back a little. The roundhouse caught Mitch on the shoulder and he fell - but it was clear he wasn’t finished yet. Kreese let it go this time. He faked an approving nod which made Hawk grin and take his place back in the circle. And the next two fighters stood up and took their places. 

Not good enough. None of them was good enough. 

And he’d had such high hopes from Hawk too. The kid had had the anger and the ferocity. He’d just needed some discipline to be molded into his fiercest warrior. The Diaz kid had had the discipline but was fundamentally lacking in that fire inside of him and that was why Kreese had put his money on Hawk. Discipline could be taught, but that fire had to come from within. And Hawk had what it took.

Or so Kreese had thought. 

The boy was ferocious enough - but there was still something missing. Something that separated the good fighters from the truly great ones. And Kreese had been training kids long enough to know when that was missing. 

They were good fighters - all of them. And thirty years ago, he’d have been proud to have them in his dojo. But time and life had been his own teachers and he’d taken their lessons to heart. He knew how easy it was to lose it all in a flash and how hard to get it all back. He was not going to lose again. And to win, he needed his students to be tougher.

None of them was a sure winner yet and the tournament wasn’t far away. It wasn’t enough that Johnny had won last year - Cobra Kai was under new management now and Kreese knew he’d have to prove himself all over again. That coward LaRuss had cut and run, but Kreese knew better than to believe that he’d stay gone. He was certain to show up at the last moment, with a new fighter of his own and Kreese had to be prepared for anything. He didn’t just need to make his students better, he needed to make them invincible. 

...Or, he needed a ringer.

Kreese narrowed his eyes at the two fighters in the center cautiously circling each-other after the first exchange. 

All of these kids were missing that spark. Hawk came the closest, but even he wasn’t good enough. The boy still had fear in him - fear of losing his friends, fear of being mocked, fear of… something else that Kreese couldn’t put his finger on. And that held him back. He was blindly obedient and that was a good thing - but that would only take him so far. 

Kreese needed something more… someone more. 

He smiled to himself. Perhaps it was finally time to put his plan into action. 

* * *

Despite what others said about him, John Kreese was not an evil man. He didn’t enjoy cruelty - he just understood the necessity of it. Everyone talked about goodwill and compassion for the world, but when it came down to it, they were all just looking to protect their own. And that’s all Kreese had ever tried to do - protect his own. Protect his friends. Protect his students. Protect his dojo. 

He’d made mistakes, sure, but he was human after all. And he’d never been needlessly cruel to his students. Never. He was hard on them - but that was only to show them how hard the world could be. And they’d misunderstood his lessons - all of them. A hundred victories over the years and one loss had been enough for them to lose faith in him. And after all that he’d done for them…

But he wouldn’t need to worry about it with this guy. This one already understood how cruel and unfair the world could be. He’d understand where Kreese was coming for, no matter what poison he’d already been filled with. 

The boy woke up with a start when he sensed Kreese’s presence.

Kreese stood over him, looking down impassively with his arms folded. The alleyway was dirty and stank of garbage, but Kreese was no stranger to such things. Nor was he unfamiliar with the makeshift den of cardboard and newspaper that the teenager currently called his home. 

The boy was a mess. His hair was dirty and tangled, there were black smudges on his face and his clothes were torn in places. He looked at Kreese warily - as if waiting for him to make a move - and then relaxed when he just stood there doing nothing. He pushed his greasy hair off his face and pulled his dirty hoodie tighter.

“Got any spare change?” He asked indifferently. 

“I can do you one better.” Kreese replied. “How about I buy some food?”

Robby looked at him for a moment, considering the offer and then got to his feet. 

* * *

Johnny had really lost his way, Kreese thought as he saw Robby Keene hungrily scarf down the burger. The boy had so much potential. Kreese had seen that in the coverage of the last tournament - how the kid had gone toe-to-toe with Johnny’s star pupil one-handed. But Johnny had been too blind to see it. He’d have never let LaRusso sink his claws into him otherwise. 

Well not like Johnny didn’t have a history of disappointing him. Kreese loved the man with all his heart - almost like a father, in fact - and his betrayal had stung each time. Even now - every day that Johnny held onto his stubborn pride and refused to simply admit that he’d been wrong was like a knife to Kreese’s heart. 

But this was how he’d get Johnny back. How he’d get it all back. Robby Keene was the key and he’d known it all along. 

“So what’s this gonna cost me?” Robby asked, munching on the fries. 

“Excuse me?” Kreese raised an eyebrow. He’d been quiet through the meal, waiting for the boy to make the first move. 

“No free lunches, right?” Robby looked tired. “So what’s it gonna be? Nothing too freaky, okay? And nothing without protection - no offense.”

Kreese gave him a sad smile. 

Finding Robby hadn’t been easy, but he’d learned a thing or two during his times in the street. He knew which homeless shelters were the most accommodating. He knew where you could find a decent bowl of soup. He knew the best places to pick up an odd job or two. He knew where to find booze that wasn’t basically battery acid. And he knew where pretty boys like Robby ended up. And why. 

“Nothing like that.” Kreese assured him. “I just want you to hear me out.”

“Great.” Robby rolled his eyes. “Sorry - but I already got Jesus in my life. That’s why I gave away all my wealth.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. He knew how annoying those types could be. 

“I was hoping to offer you something more concrete.” Kreese said. “Jesus never did anything for me either.”

“Yeah? What’s that?” Robby scoffed. “A job?”

“Better.” Kreese replied. “A home. Your home.”

Robby’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “I don’t have a home.”

“You are wrong, kid.” Kreese told him. “You’ve always had a home. You just haven’t been there yet.”

“I’m not a fan of cryptic old dudes.” Robby said, irritated. 

“I’m asking you to join my dojo.” Kreese explained. “Cobra Kai.”

There was confusion on his face for a moment. And then it cleared as understanding came. 

“Kreese!” He said, tensing up immediately. “You’re John Kreese!”

“And you are Robby Keene.” Kreese replied, smiling. “It’s a shame we’ve never met before, since I am kind of your grandfather.”

Robby barked out a derisive laugh at that. 

“It’s true.” Kreese frowned. “Johnny is like a son to me and - ”

“No - it’s not that.” Robby shook his head. “I was thinking with a dad like Johnny Lawrence, what other kind of grandfather would I have.”

Kreese pursed his lips. He’d been hoping their common connection with Johnny might be good enough to establish trust. That he might use Robby’s desire to reconnect with his father to win him over. But it didn’t look like that was going to happen. 

“I understand that you feel like you’ve been let down by your father.” Kreese said understandingly. There was more than one way for Johnny to be useful here. “We have that in common. He let me down as well.”

Robby didn’t reply to that - just looked at him skeptically. 

“I’m also sure that your Sensei must have told you a thing or two about me.” Kreese said. Better to get that out of the way first. “He must have told you that I’m a bad man.”

“No - no, ofcourse not.” Robby said, mocking. “”Psychopath” - was the word he used. “Monster” - that came up a few times too. I don’t think I can say the others without getting arrested again.”

_ Smartass. But we’ll fix that soon enough, won’t we? _

“Well, there are two side to every story.” Kreese said, carefully. “And I never got a chance to tell mine.”

“Let me guess - he got it all wrong?” Robby quipped. “You didn’t do all the horrible things he said you did?”

“No - I did them.” Kreese said, putting as much regret into his voice as possible. “I’ve made mistakes - terrible mistakes. I won’t deny that. But… I thought you of all people might understand what it’s like to be judged  _ only  _ for your mistakes.”

Robby’s smile disappeared. He looked down, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.  _ Got him. _

“It was my mistake that started this all.” Kreese went on. “That one time I lost my temper with your father - that cost me everything. The same as you. It’s not right, is it? That you should lose everything because of one mistake?”

“Maybe it is.” Robby shrugged, not looking at him. 

“Then why should we be the ones to lose everything?” Kreese asked. “Why should others get to make one mistake after another and pay no price at all?”

Robby looked at him sullenly for a moment. 

“Alright.” He said. 

“Alright?”  _ It couldn’t be that easy? _

“Alright - I’ll hear you out.” Robby clarified. “You paid for the food - I owe you atleast that much.”

_ In for a penny… _

“Like I said, I lost everything I cared about because I made one mistake.” Kreese began after a deep breath. “My life became hell. I used to be right where you are now and I hate to see anyone go through what I did. You are a good kid, Robby and you deserve a second chance. I thought for sure that your father would’ve given you one. In fact, I’m ashamed to call him my student after how he has treated you. Or if not him - maybe that Sensei of yours you trusted so much. They didn’t, did they? But I want to. I want to help you get your life back together. It’s not too late for you.”

“Uh-huh.” Robby said, noncommittally. “Still don’t see why you’d care about me?”

“Maybe I’m still looking for some kind of redemption too.” Kreese said. “I want to do for you what I wish someone had done for me - offer me a helping hand when I was down on my luck. I want to do things right this time around and I think that helping you might be my ticket to that. The one good deed that makes up for my past sins.”

He wasn’t buying it - Kreese could see that. The poison LaRusso had injected in him ran deep in his veins. He was planning to thank him for the meal and walk out. 

“I think I can help you, I really do.” Kreese went on. “Robby, this isn’t the life for you. There is a fighter inside you. A warrior. A winner. And I can help you mold that into something. I see potential in you - I always have. Ever since I came back to Cobra Kai, I’ve been telling Johnny to make things right with you. You can ask him yourself if you don’t believe me. And if he’d listened to me - ”

“Cut the bullshit, okay?” Robby interrupted him. “You’re here because you need a fighter. None of the pussies you are training is good enough and since I put Diaz out of commission, I’m your best hope.”

This one was not going to be easy to handle. The kid was smarter than Kreese had given him credit for. 

“I mean every word I said.” Kreese insisted. “I really want to help you. But… if it’s easier for you to understand things in practical terms, we can do that.”

“Yeah. Let’s.” Robby said. “So you get a new star student who can kick some ass - what do I get?”

“Your life back.” Kreese replied. “You get a home. A future. You get your father’s respect. Maybe even a few girls, if you want.”

Robby scoffed. “You talk a good game, alright.”

Kreese sighed. “Is there anything I can do to convince you to join Cobra Kai?”

“No.” Robby shook his head. “You don’t need to convince me. I’ll join.”

Kreese stared at him in surprise. Was that it? There had to be a catch somewhere.

“I have some conditions, though.” Robby added. 

And there it was.

“Name them.”

“Let’s start with your students.” Robby said. “They still hate me, right? They’re gonna have it out for me?”

“Don’t worry about them. I’ll handle them.” Kreese assured him. “They’ll leave you alone.”

“Don’t bother.” Robby replied. “I can handle myself. In fact, you are gonna stay out of it. Let them come after me. And no matter what happens, you don’t take sides. You do that and I’m out. Deal?”

_ Deal? Isn’t that a little too one-sided in my favor? _

“Sure.” Kreese nodded. “Anything else.”

“I want to know what you expect from me.” Robby asked. 

“Well, I want you to help Cobra Kai win.” Kreese explained. “We’ll start with the tournament and we’ll see after that.”

Robby nodded. 

“I'm warning you right now - it won’t be easy.” Kreese said. “You might have to fight your former friends. Johnny might put people against you. LaRusso might too. Will that be a problem?”

“Not for me.” Robby shrugged.

“I must say, I’m a little surprised.” Kreese said, frowning. “I didn’t expect you to turn against them this easily.”

“They turned against me.” Robby replied. “They left me - all of them. I don’t owe them anything. Not anymore.”

_ Revenge. Ofcourse. That’s what was driving this kid. He wanted to hurt them because they’d hurt him. He really should’ve seen that from the start.  _

“How much money are you making off Cobra Kai anyway?” Robby asked.

Kreese frowned. He’d been down this road before - sharing ownership of Cobra Kai - and it hadn’t worked out. He wasn’t going to do that again. A dojo worked best with only one alpha.

“Enough.” He replied. “Why?”

“I’m gonna need some cash for a few other things.” Robby explained. “I need to hire a lawyer. Take care of some legal stuff.”

Kreese nodded. That should be easy. He’d needed to hire one to lock down his ownership of Cobra Kai and Robby could use the same guy. He wasn’t the best or the cheapest, but he wasn’t that ethical and that was the quality you wanted most in a lawyer.

“That won’t be a problem.” He smiled. “Anything else?”

“I’ll need a place to stay I guess.” Robby shrugged. 

“Ofcourse. I don’t have a spare room right now but the couch is pretty - ”

“Keep your couch.” Robby said. “I’m tired of sleeping in crappy places. I’m tired of going hungry. I’m tired of being cold. I want my own place. Doesn’t have to be fancy - just a comfortable bed, a kitchen and hot water. I want you to pay for it for the whole year. Upfront. Plus something extra for food and stuff.”

Kreese stroked his chin, musing on the terms. The kid drove a hard bargain. And his resources weren’t infinite. Cobra Kai wasn’t doing  _ that _ well. All these demands might end up stretching him thin.

On the other hand, Johnny had quite a bit saved up in the accounts that Kreese had taken over. Perhaps it was only fair that that money should go to supporting his own kid. Kreese needed to look at it like an investment. If Robby proved his worth, then this expenditure won’t matter in the long run. And if he didn’t… well, he was still a kid after all. 

“If I’m paying you, it’d make sense that you should work for it.” Kreese countered. “I expect you to take care of the dojo - clean mats, wash windows, toilets...”

The kid found that funny for some reason. 

“Yeah, I’m good at doing chores.” He chuckled. 

“I guess we have a deal then.” Kreese said - feeling more relaxed and excited than he had in a long time. 

“I guess we do.” Robby smirked at him. “So what now, Mr. Kreese?”

Kreese smiled back.  _ Time for the first lesson.  _

“That’s  _ Sensei  _ Kreese to you, Mr. Keene.” 


	2. Hawk I

Hawk hesitated in the parking lot, peeking around the corner as he heard the familiar loud laugh. He’d done his best to avoid the guy before and he really didn’t want Sens- Johnny to see him like this. But he still needed to talk to Miguel. Desperately. 

Something was wrong. Even though it all made perfect sense when Sensei Kreese explained it, there was still something very, very wrong. Hawk could feel that in his gut. And he needed  _ someone’s  _ help to figure it out. 

Demetri used to be his go-to person for stuff like this - back when he was still that pussy Eli. He’d been blinded by their friendship and Demetri always  _ sounded  _ so smart, so sure of himself, that Eli had believed that he knew what he was talking about. Johnny Lawrence had fixed that. He’d shown him how the world truly worked and Eli had become Hawk and Hawk didn’t need pussies like Demetri in his life. 

But then Sensei Lawrence had lost his way too. He’d forgotten all about what he’d taught them before because he was soft for his son. He’d made them soft - he’d let them lose. He’d betrayed them. So Sensei Kreese had stepped up and put them back on the right path. 

And now…

No - Sensei Kreese hadn’t lost his way. He was still teaching them the same things that he always had. And there was nothing wrong with what he was doing - not as far as Hawk could see. But it still  _ felt _ wrong. And Miguel was the only person left he could talk to for that. 

And Miguel was with Sens- Johnny Lawrence right now. 

Hawk never truly got that blind loyalty Miguel had for Johnny. Sure, he understood loyalty - but that was a two-way street. You didn’t owe anything to someone who’d betrayed you - like Demetri had betrayed him. And Miguel was the one who’d suffered the worst due to Johnny’s betrayal. Hawk didn’t understand how Miguel could still be loyal to the guy after that. 

They’d fought about it before a couple of times. Whenever Hawk had brought up the idea of Miguel joining them after he was better and Migue had called  _ him  _ a traitor instead. They’d almost fallen out over it, until Hawk had decided to simply not bring up the subject anymore. Miguel was his friend after all - the only one who hadn’t betrayed him - and being there for him was more important right now. He’d figure out a way to convince him later. 

He peeked around the corner to see Johnny leading Miguel on his daily drills. 

It hurt Hawk to see his friend like this - the champion who’d been so badass reduced to stumbling around on crutches. The doctor had said that these daily exercises were necessary for him to get his strength back and someone or the other was always helping him every evening. It looked like Johnny’s turn today and it looked like one of the good days. Miguel was sweating and panting from the effort, but he was smiling and so was their former Sensei.

Hawk wondered for a moment if he should simply walk away. Leave the two of them alone and not spoil the mood with any bad news. But then he decided against it. He wasn’t the pussy Eli anymore after all - even if he still felt like him some days. 

“You’ll be back breaking boards in no time.” Hawk started with a compliment as he approached them. 

Miguel smiled at him, letting Johnny help him into a chair. And Johnny looked at him awkwardly. However things had ended between them, they had a tacit agreement of not fighting in front of Miguel. Because from some reason, Miguel needed them both and neither wanted to make him choose which one of them he needed more. 

“I should leave the two of you alone.” Johnny said, turning to leave.

“No, it’s fine.” Hawk spoke up on instinct.

Then he considered where those words had come from. Was Miguel right after all? Sensei Lawrence had guided them right after all - once upon a time. He was the reason why Hawk was who he was today. And despite the betrayal… if Miguel was giving him a second chance, maybe Hawk could as well. 

“You should stay.” Hawk said more firmly. “I need to talk to you too.”

Johnny nodded and they both pulled up a couple of patio chairs on the opposite sides of Miguel. 

Hawk hesitated, unsure of how to start. And Johnny saw that - and then saw his face - and began himself. 

“Did Kreese do that?” He asked, gently, gesturing at Hawk’s black eye and bruised jaw.

“Ofcourse not!” Hawk replied indignantly. 

He always hated it when people did that. When they asked about his wounds in that fake caring tone as if he was some sort of abuse  _ victim.  _ These bruises were badges of honor - proof that he was a warrior. Not a victim. He’d hated it when people had done it with Sensei Lawrence and now he hated it when they did that with Sensei Kreese. He’d have expected Johnny to know better. 

“Karate is a contact sport. Did you forget that,  _ Sensei? _ ” Hawk snapped. 

Johnny pursed his lips, but didn’t reply and Hawk tried to sort his thoughts out. 

“I just… need to talk about the new Cobra Kai.” Hawk said, thoughtfully. “Things aren’t… what I thought they’d be. Something’s wrong there.”

“Obviously.” Miguel rolled his eyes. “You’ve got Kreese running the place.”

“No - that’s not it.” Hawk said immediately. He was tired of everyone vilifying Sensei Kreese like that. The guy had only ever done what needed to be done. “He didn’t do anything wrong. He’s teaching us what he has always taught us.”

“Hawk...” Johnny started, but knew better than to finish. 

Hawk knew what he was going to say - the same thing he’d said before. That what Kreese was teaching them was wrong. But how could it be when it was the same thing Johnny had taught them before? The same thing that had changed Hawk’s life? It hadn’t led anywhere before and it wasn’t going to now.

They both waited for him to continue. 

“I don’t know what exactly is wrong, okay?” Hawk explained. “I just don’t like it there anymore.”

“Then quit.” Miguel said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Hawk stared at him incredulously.  _ Miguel  _ was telling him to quit? When did the guy turn into a Demetri?

“I’m not a quitter.” Hawk said indignantly. 

“No one said you are. But...” Miguel sighed, exasperated. “What’s the point of sticking with something that makes you miserable? I’m not telling you to quit karate or quit being a badass, but if you don’t like it there anymore...”

Hawk shook his head stubbornly. 

“The dojo isn’t the problem.” He told them. “ _ He _ is.”

They both gave him identical quizzical looks and Hawk wondered if he’d said too much. He hadn’t wanted to bring Keene up. After all Johnny had let them down for Keene’s sake before. This time, Hawk had wanted to be sure that Johnny’s advice was objective - not biased because it concerned his son. 

But it looked like he had no choice now.

“Things haven’t been the same since Robby joined Cobra Kai.” Hawk explained. 

“ _ Robby joined Cobra Kai? _ ” Johnny looked at him aghast. And Hawk knew that feeling. 

* * *

Hawk spent the class in a daze. He led the drills, as usual, but he was on autopilot the whole time. His eyes were glued to Robby Keene through the session and Robby’s were on him - cold, emotionless and focused. Copying his every move. 

It was a joke. It had to be. Sensei Kreese was playing some sick prank on them that day by telling them that Robby would be a part of Cobra Kai from now on. There was a lesson in here somewhere and Hawk simply didn’t get it. And he couldn’t wait for the class to be over so that he could ask Sensei Kreese personally. 

“Are you questioning me?” Kreese asked, leaning back into his chair and steeping his fingers together. 

Hawk’s stomach clenched in fear. You did NOT question Sensei Kreese. EVER.

Kreese smiled at him. 

“I’ll allow it. Just this once.” He said. “Go on. Say what you want to say.”

“Robby Keene, Sensei?” Hawk said, incredulously. “How could you let him into Cobra Kai?”

“Let him?” Kreese replied. “I asked him to join.”

That made even less sense.

“But… he’s the enemy.” Hawk was dumbfounded. 

“He  _ was _ the enemy.” Kreese replied. “But alliances change in a war. And we want winners on our team.”

“Winners…?”

“He won the fight. He struck when his enemy let his guard down and he showed no mercy.” Kreese explained. “The boy is a true Cobra.”

Hawk’s head was swimming. What Kreese was saying made sense, sure - but it felt so wrong. 

“But… what about… Miguel?” He stammered. 

“Diaz is always welcome here.” Kresse shrugged. “If he wants to come back. Has that changed yet?”

“He isn’t ready. Physically.” Hawk replied. 

Kreese looked at him like he could see right through him. He tsked, shaking his head in disappointment. 

“Your loyalty to your friend is commendable, Hawk.” He said. “But loyalty is a two-way street. If your friends are not loyal to Cobra Kai, then you don’t owe them anything. You understand that, right?”

He did. He really, really did. That’s why he’d let go of Demetri after all. And Sensei Lawrence. And Aisha and Bert and all the other traitors who’d quit upon the return of Cobra Kai’s rightful owner. Nobody could question that his loyalty was to Cobra Kai - first and foremost.

But Miguel… he hadn’t betrayed them. Not yet. There was a difference between not choosing to join and not being able to join. Sure, he said he wasn’t going to, but he was a little misguided now and that wasn’t betrayal. And Hawk would bring him back to them, he was sure of that. He just needed some more time.

“I’ve told you before that there are going to be people like that in your life. People who’ll try to drag you down. Make you weak. Make you a loser.” Kreese went on. “Those people are not your true friends even if they pretend to be. You don’t owe them anything. You need to cut them out of your life like a disease. Don’t you agree?”

Hawk agreed. In fact, he did more than that. He’d made it clear to every traitor - including Aisha and Bert - that they were either with Cobra Kai or against them. Everyone but… Miguel. 

“So I’m supposed to be friends with Keene now?” Hawk spat, disgusted. “Forget everything he has done and be buddies? Just like that?”

“I never asked you to do that.”

Hawk was taken aback. 

“Hawk - am I your Sensei or your mother?” Kreese asked, frowning. 

“You are our Sensei, Sensei.” Hawk replied immediately. 

“Right. Which means it’s not up to me to solve your problems for you. I can teach you how, but you need to do the work yourself.” 

Hawk looked at him, confused. He was getting at something, that much was clear. But Hawk wasn’t sure what. 

“If you have a problem with one of your fellow students, then deal with it yourself. Out of my sight, ofcourse.” Kreese explained. “Don’t come running to me and expect me to solve it for you.”

He was starting to get it now. 

“So… we can go after Keene, just not inside the dojo?” He asked thoughtfully. 

“No - just not in front of me.” Kreese clarified. “I’m running a dojo here and I can’t have my students acting like animals right under my nose. But what you do in your free time is up to you.”

Hawk’s heart lightened as understanding dawned on him. He’d had it wrong after all. Ofcourse Sensei Kreese would be on their side. He always was. He was always looking out for them and even now, he was trying to find the right way to give them what they so badly needed. 

“Thank you, Sensei.” Hawk grinned. “I understand now.”

He couldn’t help but skip a little as he walked out of the dojo. His friends were predictably outside, still sullen and angry about the most recent development. But they looked hopeful after seeing the look on Hawk’s face.

“What did Sensei say?” Eddy asked. “Is he kicking that asshole out?”

“No - Keene is staying.” Hawk replied, smiling wide.

That did not seem to cheer them up.

“Can’t believe Sensei would do that!” Mitch said, in disgust. 

And that was why Hawk was the top student of Cobra Kai. None of the others had a functioning brain cell between them. 

“That’s because you are a dumbass, assface.” Hawk told him. “Sensei is doing this for us.”

They all looked similarly confused and Hawk decided to spell it out for them. 

“We all want to pay Keene back, right? For what he did to Miguel?” Hawk asked and they nodded. “But if we do it out there, we can end up in juvie like him. But here - in the dojo - we are  _ supposed  _ to hit each-other. And if Keene gets hit harder than necessary… well, accidents happen, right?”

They all mused over it - still not getting it.

“So… we are supposed to go hard on him during training?” Mitch asked, confused. “That doesn’t mean anything. We already go hard on each-other and I don’t want to train with that douchebag.”

Hawk rolled his eyes. 

“No, dumbass, I’m not talking about training. We can’t do anything in front of Sensei Kreese. But when he isn’t looking...” Hawk shrugged. 

They finally got the implication and their faces lightened as it dawned on him.

“Honestly, I don’t know why Keene would be dumb enough to join in the first place.” Hawk went on with a grin on his face. “But he won’t last long. Because we’ll make him regret it. And we won’t let him quit. Not until we’ve made him pay for what he did to Miguel in full.”


	3. Hawk II

Their window of opportunity wasn’t that big. They had to leave Keene alone once he walked out the door and they couldn’t do anything in front of Sensei. But Sensei had always allowed students a free run of the dojo. They could come and go as they pleased - and there were plenty of times when Sensei wasn’t there either. 

And Hawk was a true Cobra. He knew how to bide his time and wait for the opportunity to strike. He chose his friends carefully as well - Mitch, Tony and Mikey. The same guys who’d gotten beaten up by Robby at the mall - minus that traitor Chris. All of _them_ would have a reason to beat his ass beyond just what Robby did to Miguel. They'd be familiar with his moves AND he could trust them not to pussy out in the middle of it.   


He could almost hear Sensei Lawrence bitching about the unfairness of it. About how you couldn’t be a true badass unless you beat your opponent one-on-one. But to hell with him. This wasn’t about a fair fight or about being a badass - this was about justice. And payback. Robby needed to pay for what he did to Miguel and Hawk didn’t care if he had to fight a little dirty to make it happen. 

Robby was there in the backroom, cleaning the equipment at the end of the day. His back was turned to the door but he heard them come in anyway. He froze in place as Hawk and the other three spread out a little, making sure to cover all the exits. That had been his mistake with Demetri - but Keene would have no place to run.   


Hawk allowed himself to savor the moment for a bit. This was the best part of the fight - when the cornered rat was frozen in fear of the snake. Or the Hawk, in this case. He knew Keene knew what was coming. And he knew the guy must be ready to piss his pants. 

Which wasn’t going to make a difference. Hawk wasn’t going to make the same mistake as Miguel. He wasn’t going to show any mercy. 

“Hey Keene!” He said, grinning. “Welcome to Cobra Kai! I thought we should give you a proper party.”

Robby whirled around swiftly and heaved a dumbbell in their direction. Hawk’s eyes widened as he saw the metal object soar through the air towards Mitch. The fat boy managed to put his arm up to block, but it still hit his hand with a  _ thunk!  _ while the other end smacked his forehead. 

“ARE YOU CRA-?” Hawk turned back to Robby, horrified, and saw that his opponent had already closed the gap between them. The punch hit Hawk square in the face before he could put his guard up and everything went white and starry immediately.

Hawk stumbled back, trying to regain himself and put his arms up instinctively to defend against any follow-up attacks. None came. Instead, he heard yells and thuds to his side as he tried to clear his vision. By the time he did, it was already over. Mikey was curled up on the ground in a fetal position, clutching his balls. Mitch was whimpering with his back against the wall, grabbing his broken arm. And Tony was bent over, with his arm across his stomach. Robby finished him off with a roundhouse to the face. 

“You said something about a party?” Robby said, turning towards Hawk and grinning. 

_ Oh, shit! _

His vision was blurry from watery eyes. His nose throbbed painfully. And he could taste salt and iron on his lips. But Hawk was not a coward. Not any more. He put his arms up, taking a fighting stance. 

Besides, it wasn’t like he had no chance. Sure, they might have been equals before, but Hawk had been training like a maniac these past few months while Robby had been rotting away in juvie. If he kept himself under control, if he was careful and cautious…

And Robby was moving again. 

Hawk slithered back, dodging and blocking his blows, waiting for an opening. He saw one - Robby had left his middle unguarded in his aggression - and struck out. But Robby twisted sideways so that the blow just glanced off him and he used Hawk’s momentum to pull him in and knee him in the stomach. The air went out of him and before he could take another breath, Hawk felt an elbow connect to the side of his head, making his ears ring. 

He stumbled back and Robby followed up with a kick to his torso. Hawk had his guard up, but the force of the blow slammed him against the wall anyway. 

_ Focus. Regroup. Recov- _

Robby never gave him the chance. He barely dodged a punch as he felt a knee connect to his thigh and pain flared up through his whole leg. He instinctively lowered his guard to grab his leg and Robby used the opportunity to punch him in the throat. 

Hawk fell down to his knees, coughing and retching, trying to breathe. Two more kicks to the ribs and he had no fight left in him. Robby grabbed him by his hair and twisted his head up towards himself.

“You guys came here for a beatdown, right?” He said, smirking down at him. “Glad I could help you out.”

A knee came up towards his face and everything went black. 

* * *

“Mitch is a pussy.” Hawk growled, stretching his leg. “Should’ve never included him in this.”

“Dude, his mom, like, banned him from coming back here.” Edwin argued. “He had no choice.”

“You always have a choice.” Hawk muttered, glaring at Robby. 

Robby saw him glaring from across the room and gave him a smile and a wave. 

He was going to get him, Hawk decided. Keene was a dirty fighter, but Hawk knew his tricks now. And he wouldn’t fall for the same ones again. 

It’d been a week since the fight… no, not a fight. A humiliating beatdown. It’d been a week since then and no one had made a move on Robby. The guy was walking around like he owned the place now. Like  _ he  _ was the top student - and none of the other pussies had the balls to challenge him. Hawk had tried getting more guys on board, but after Mitch, they were too scared. 

“Dude - stop that.” Mikey whispered when he saw him glaring. “Do you want him to kick your ass again?”

“He cheated.” Hawk growled. “I didn’t know he was going to use a weapon.”

“It’s your own dumbass fault.” Tory chimed in, shaking her head. “Never send a guy to do a girl’s work. Step aside, boys. Let me show you how it’s really done.”

Tory was a smart chick. In fact, if she hadn’t been a girl, she’d might’ve actually become their top student easily. And if she hadn’t been Miguel’s girl, she might’ve become Hawk’s - but Hawk followed the bro-code and you did not hit on your best friend's ex.   


Hawk watched her work her magic, impressed and a little annoyed that he hadn’t thought of it himself. 

Ofcourse Keene was going to be on his guard when Kreese wasn’t around. But he’d  _ think  _ that he was safe as long as Sensei was in the room. After all, Sensei had made it very clear that they were supposed to leave their grudges off the mat. But if it was a  _ training accident… _

Hawk didn’t clearly hear what Tory said to Sensei - something about “real world” and “surprise” - but Kreese smiled and nodded. And later he saw her surreptitiously take out her bracelet from the bag. 

“So it’s on then?” Hawk smirked, going up to her. “I’ll tell the others get ready.”

“No you won’t.” Tory told him immediately. “Sensei said he’d only allow one sneak attack at a time. And it’s my turn.”

Hawk didn’t like the sound of that. Robby was a conniving son of a bitch and he wasn’t sure if Tory alone…

“Stay out of it, okay? Or you’ll have Sensei to deal with.” She told him. “Don’t worry - I know what I’m doing.”

She did know. She let the others in on the plan. Kreese had taken to randomly pairing the students for sparring and whoever got Robby had to help her out. They didn’t need to win - they simply needed to make sure that he was immobilized and turned away from her for a moment. That’s all she’d need. She’d rush in and give him something to "remember her by" before he could react. 

Keene wouldn’t know what hit him. 

Tory knelt, tense and ready, as Keene took his place within the circle. Big Red got to be the lucky guy today - not the worst choice, but Hawk really would’ve liked to do the honors himself. They circled each-other, exchanging blows while Red kept himself out of Robby’s reach and maneuvered him into position. 

Robby’s back was turned to Tory and Red went for a tackle, wrapping his arms around his waist and trying to throw him. He earned a quick knee to the gut and an elbow to the back, but didn’t let go. He did his job. Tory surged to her feet and rushed forward, rearing her arm back with her spiked bracelet - her claws - firmly in place. 

Robby turned. 

He swung around, putting Red between them like a shield and Tory was going to fast to stop. Her attempt to redirect her fist ended with her raking the spikes across Red’s shoulder and back. Red grunted in pain and surprise and the white gi started turning crimson. Robby dropped another elbow to the back of his head and threw him aside. 

Then he stood there, facing Tory and grinning maniacally. 

_ Don’t interfere,  _ Hawk remembered as his heart stopped for a moment. He looked at Sensei in desperate plea, hoping to get his unspoken permission to step in, but Kreese was watching things unfold impassively. 

Tory looked scared for but a moment. And then she swung her fist towards Robby, who easily dodged it leaning backwards. And then he caught it mid-air and twisted her arm back towards her. His leg was already hooked behind hers, trapping her in place. 

Inexorably, the spikes came closer to her face until the points were digging into her cheek. 

_ Sensei, please!  _ Hawk looked at Kreese in mute appeal. Kreese didn't look back.  


“Please, dont!” Tory said, her eyes wide with fear. 

Robby yanked his hand down, leaving three red gashes on her cheek before letting her go. Tory dropped to the floor with a cry and clutched at her face as blood slipped out from between her fingers. 

_ Screw this!  _ Hawk surged to his feet in anger, ready to attack and Robby turned around, facing him with a smirk. 

“HAWK!” Sensei Kreese’s voice cut the air like a knife, making his stop mid-attack. He turned to look at him, waiting for him to give permission to end this once and for all. 

“Get the first aid kit from my office.” Kreese ordered with a soft smile playing on his lips. 

“We’ll fucking get him for this.” Hawk told Eddy after class. “Asshole’s not gonna get away with it this time. But it needs to be all of us, alright? One on one - ”

“Are you fucking nuts?” Eddy looked at him disbelieving. “Didn’t you see what he did to Tory? To Mitch? I ain’t going anywhere near that psycho.”

“Don’t tell me you are turning pussy too.” Hawk said, derisively. 

“Whatever, man.” Edwin shrugged. “You got beef with Keene? Settle it yourself. I’m not getting in the middle of it.”

“It’s not just my beef - it’s all of ours.” Hawk said angrily. Had they all forgotten? “Cobras stick together. For life.”

“He’s a Cobra too.” Edwin pointed out. “And honestly, I’m starting to see what Sensei Lawrence was talking about before he left.”

No! Robby was NOT a Cobra. He didn’t understand what Cobra Kai was all about. He had no idea. And he was making others forget as well. But Hawk would remind them. He'd find a way to show them all.  



	4. Hawk III

Hawk winced in sympathy as he watched Tory lean against the wall outside the dojo. She’d held it together for the whole day, but Hawk could clearly see how much the events had affected her. A week and half since the wound and the bandages had come off two days ago - but the stitches were still there, like three black and red caterpillars crawling across her face. 

Everyone did their very best to ignore it - except for Robby, who smirked every time he saw his handiwork.

And what had happened today wasn’t fair either. Robby was the asshole who'd done that - why should Tory get in trouble for it?

“Had a call from the police today.” Kreese had said, after calling on Tory to step forward. “They were asking about an incident where one of my students ‘defaced’ another.”

_ Good,  _ Hawk had thought.  _ Let that psycho go back to prison. That’s where he belongs. _

“It wasn’t me, Sensei.” Tory had replied immediately. “It was my mom. I told her to leave it alone but she wouldn’t listen.”

“I told them that it was an accident - that you shouldn’t have been wearing a bracelet like that during sparring. Make sure we are on the same page.”

The unfairness of it all had stung them all. Sure Tory had attacked Robby, but what he’d done was deliberate and cruel. 

“You okay?” Hawk asked gently, approaching her. 

“Leave me alone.” Tory immediately wiped away her tears, embarrassed. Cobras didn’t cry - not even girl Cobras.

“It’s not so bad, okay? Living with a scar.” Hawk said, comfortingly. “I’ve lived with one my whole life. The trick is distract from it. The more attention you draw to it, the more other people will make fun of you for it.”

Tory gave him a hollow laugh. “Easier said than done.”

_ Don’t I know it.  _ Hawk looked at her sympathetically. He had never been able to get over his scar when he was still Eli. And Tory’s was way worse. 

“I got fired from my job yesterday.” Torry admitted softly. “Some parents complained that my face was scaring the kids. They said it was because of my work ethic, but...”

_ Assholes.  _

“We should go over there and teach them a lesson.” Hawk scowled. 

“What’s that gonna do? Get me my job back?” She said bitterly.   


Hawk bit his lip. He didn’t know what to say to comfort her. 

“You’ll find a new one.” He tried. 

“With this face?” Tory smiled sadly. “Who’s gonna hire me?”

Hawk wanted to comfort her, he really did. But he didn’t want to cross any lines. Tentatively, he reached out and touched her shoulder. And Tory started sobbing again. 

“Hey! It’s my favorite couple!” A voice said from behind. “Scarface and Scarface!”

Robby- _ fucking- _ Keene.

“Leave her alone, man!” Hawk turned, stepping between him and Tory. 

Robby’s smile disappeared and he got that dangerous look in his eye again.

“Say something to me, Lip?” 

And just like that, he was Eli again. He had no chance against Robby on his own - he knew that now. And he didn’t want to get Tory involved. Not after what had happened the last time. Even if he put up any resistance, he’d just end up getting his ass kicked and be humiliated. 

He hadn’t felt like this in a long time - this fear clenching his stomach, the warm and cold shivers racing down his back, the cold sweat on his brow - the urge to pee. His heart pounded in his chest as he looked at his feet and shook his head. 

“Thought so.” Robby smirked. “So what are you guys talking about?”

“Tory got fired from her job because of… that.” Hawk told him accusingly. 

There wasn’t even a hint of guilt on the bastard’s face. 

“Huh.” Robby chuckled. “Look at the bright side - you were always complaining about guys hitting on you there. That won’t be a problem anymore. Anywhere.”

Tory gave him a disgusted look and Hawk wanted to punch the guy right there and then. And he would’ve too… if not for Eli.

"Just leave her alone, man." He said instead. "You've done enough."

Robby grinned, looking between them. 

"Is he your boyfriend now?" He asked like a predator swooping in on his prey. "Is that what you do? Jump into bed with the toughest guy in the dojo? Does that mean I'm next?'"

Tory looked away, embarrassed and Hawk sighed in exasperation.

"I'm not her boyfr-" He started, but a backhand across his face cut him off. 

Hawk stumbled and fell back against the wall. _Fight,_ his mind screamed. _Even if you lose, you need to stand up to him._

_ Please, don't,  _ Eli begged from the corner of his mind. _It won't make a difference and it'll only hurt worse._

He listened to Eli and stayed there. Tory stepped forward, trying to get between them, but Robby stopped her in her place with a glare. He grabbed Hawk by his collar, lifting him up and punched him again.  


"Something else you wanna say to me, Lip?" Robby asked in a deadly tone.

Hawk looked down and shook his head. He heard Robby laugh and then run a hand through his hair.

“Y’know, now that I think about it, I think you should get a haircut.” Robby said, musingly. 

“What?” Hawk asked, confused. 

“This rooster thing you’ve got going on.” Robby said, gesturing. “It’s really distracting. I think it’ll be better if you just shave it all off.”

There was a pit in his stomach as shivers ran up and down his spine. 

“Dude, what are you - ?”

Robby grabbed his jaw and turned it up and Hawk was too scared to even slap his hand away. 

“Your lip really sets you apart from others.” Robby said, examining him. “You shouldn’t try to distract from that.”

_ No, not that. Anything but that. Please.  _

“Maybe I’ll help you out, someday.” Robby said, smiling and clapping him on the shoulder. “Give you a haircut that really shows off who you are.”

Robby walked away and the threat was clear as day. The next time Hawk tried anything, he’d turn him back into Eli permanently. 

* * *

Sensei would fix it. He had to. Enough was enough, right? He’d brought Robby in so that they could get some payback by hurting him. But he was hurting them instead. It was time to cut their losses and kick him out. 

“I told you already.” Kreese said. “I’m not going to fix your problems for you.”

But…

“He doesn’t belong here, Sensei.” Hawk said firmly. 

“So where does he belong?” Kreese asked, smirking. 

“In a nuthouse.” Hawk replied. “In prison. Not here.”

Kreese leaned back in his chair, chuckling. 

“So what did he do wrong?” He asked. “Can you tell me?”

_ Where to begin. _

“H-he attacked me. Out of nowhere.” Hawk said. 

“Strike First.” Kreese replied. “Isn’t that what I taught you?”

“He broke Mitch’s arm. Mitch had to quit because of that.”

“Strike Hard.”

“C’mon, Sensei. What he did to Tory? Even you can see...” But Hawk knew the answer already. 

“No Mercy.” Kreese said. “That lesson is about breaking your opponent’s will to fight. And Tory won’t be challenging him again, will she?”

Yes, that made sense. It made so much sense. So why did it feel so wrong?

“I don’t know what you want us to do, Sensei.” Hawk said, helplessly. 

“What kind of question is that?” Kreese looked genuinely confused. “I want to make you winners. I want to teach you that this is what life is like - hard, cruel, merciless. And in order to be winners, you have to be the same.”

“We are trying… but we keep losing to him.” Hawk pleaded. 

“You only lose once you admit to having lost.” Kreese replied, smirking. 

It was no use. All this talking was getting him nowhere. Sensei Kreese wasn’t doing anything wrong. His lessons had always been the same. He had always been consistent. Not like Sensei Lawrence. And as far as he could see, Robby wasn’t doing anything wrong either. Nothing that a Cobra shouldn’t. 

So that must mean that he was the one in wrong, right? That’s what Sensei had just explained to him? But he still couldn’t figure out where he was going wrong. 

He needed answers. He needed to figure this out. He needed to talk to… someone. 

* * *

  
  


“Robby joined Cobra Kai?” Johnny asked, aghast. 

Hawk nodded in confirmation. 

“You told me he was giving up karate.” Miguel said, looking at Johnny accusingly. 

“I - that’s what he told me, when I saw him last.” Johnny replied, looking at the two of them anxiously. “I-I need to… go...”

He got up, confused and uncertain and walked away. And then he stopped, turned, and came back. 

“What happened?” He asked Hawk. “Tell me everything.”

So Hawk did, starting from the very beginning. Everything that had happened, everything Robby had said and done since he joined Cobra Kai. And the more he said, the darker Johnny’s face got. 

“I can’t believe he’d do that to Tory.” Miguel said, horrified. They might have broken up, but he clearly still cared about his ex. 

“So, Sensei - are you still gonna take his side?” Hawk couldn’t help but ask. 

Johnny worked his jaw in mute rage and Hawk could hear his teeth grinding. He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of satisfaction at that. Surely now Johnny regretted taking Robby’s side over them before. Surely now he saw that he wasn’t worth the trouble. 

“Robby isn’t the only one at fault.” Johnny said at length. 

_ He is kidding, right? Is he blaming Tory too? _

“Kreese is letting this happen.” He added. 

Hawk scoffed. He should’ve expected as much. Sensei Kreese had warned him about this - that people would try to use anything to get him to betray Cobra Kai. 

“You don’t see Kreese’s part in all this?” Johnny asked, raising his brows. 

“Don’t bother, alright.” Hawk said smugly. “You are not gonna get me that easy. I’m loyal to Sensei Kreese.”

“Loyalty is a two-way street, Hawk.” Johnny said, gently. “Do you think Kreese is being very loyal to you right now?”

The question hit him like a ton of bricks and Hawk couldn’t think for a moment.  _ Ofcourse, he is,  _ he wanted to say immediately, but the words just wouldn’t come out. And the more he thought, the harder it got. 

“I-it’s not like that.” He said after a while. “He is… teaching us a lesson.”

“Lessons aren’t supposed to leave you with permanent scars.”

_ What is he saying? What is he trying to imply? That Sensei Kreese let me down too? That he chose Robby… over me? Us?  
_

“Why does this keep happening?” Hawk asked, his head swimming. “Why does everyone keep betraying me?”

“Hawk - you betrayed yourself.” Miguel said painfully. 

Hawk stared at him, uncomprehending. 

“You were so scared of losing that you lost sight of what you were fighting for.” Miguel explained. “You forgot what really mattered - your friends. Yourself.”

“No… that’s not...”

“Demetri wrote a bad review - so what?” Miguel continued. “Sensei didn’t care. Aisha, Bert - they didn’t join Kreese. And that makes them traitors?”

“STOP IT!” Hawk yelled, putting his battered face in his hands. “Just… let me think for a moment.”

They were messing with his head. Both of them. Just like Sensei Kreese had warned him. He had to focus on - that’s how he’d get through this. 

“They were dragging me down.” Hawk said, firmly. “They were turning me into a loser. And winning is the only thing that matters.”

“If that’s true, then why are you here?” Miguel asked. “Why are you still friends with me?”

Hawk stared at him. Was Miguel rejecting him too?

“You are the champ.” He said, numbly. 

“Not anymore.” Miguel said, sadly. “We both know I’ll never win a championship again.”

Yes, he knew. Sure they’d both pretended otherwise. Joked about how epic his comeback would be. But they both knew, deep down, that that was never going to happen. 

“Hawk, if winning is the only thing you care about, then you are no different from Robby.” Johnny added quietly. 

_ No - not him. I’m nothing like that… psycho. _

“I-I don’t know what to do?” He admitted, uncertainly. 

“Yeah, you do.” Miguel reminded him.

_ Quit Cobra Kai? After everything? Just like that? _

“I c-can’t.” He pleaded. “Cobra Kai changed my life.”

“Sensei’s Cobra Kai did. Not Kreese’s.” Miguel told him. 

That was true, but… “He taught us the same things too. At first.”

“I know. And that was my mistake. But Hawk… if I’d kept teaching you the same things, this is where it was always going to lead.” Johnny explained. “I changed, because I didn’t want things to end up here. Maybe I did it too late, but...”

Hawk grasped onto that. 

“So Sensei Kreese could change too, right?” He asked. “If we just explained it to him...?” 

Johnny shook his head. “Kreese only cares about winning. Hasn’t he made that clear already? He’ll throw everything aside in order to win.”

No, that couldn’t be right, could it? Sensei Kreese had said… said… he’d never actually said it. He had talked a lot about loyalty to Cobra Kai, but never promised the same thing in return. All he ever talked about was winning. 

“If I… j-join you again...” Hawk took a deep breath before completing the thought. “Can you promise you’ll never choose Robby over us again?”

Johnny sat there in stunned silence, blinking at him. And then he shook his head regretfully. 

“Hawk - that’s not a choice. Kreese is messing up all of you kids - you and Robby.” Johnny answered. “You are my student - but he is my son. I need to save him too.”

And there it was. 

Hawk sneered at him in anger and walked away without another word. 

Johnny had more or less just admitted that he’d put his own son ahead of his students whenever he felt like it. So how could Hawk trust him with anything after that? But Kreese had lied too - so how could Hawk trust him either? And if he couldn't trust either of them then who could he trust?


	5. Johnny I

Johnny should be nervous. He always felt nervous whenever he was about to face his son. He was always afraid of seeing the anger and the resentment in his eyes, while his caustic tongue threw his failures in his face. 

But not today. Today he felt curiously calm. Even though he knew this failure was on him as well, his stomach wasn’t churning like it usually did. 

They let Robby into the visiting room after about fifteen minutes of waiting. And Johnny could see that juvie had not been kind to him. The hair he’d been so proud of were cut short and the drab blue jumpsuit did nothing to diminish the paleness of his skin. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the black and blue bruise on his cheek was atleast a day old, while the one of his jaw was clearly older. 

“Took you long enough.” Robby said, casually, with a smile that did not reach his eyes. “I was starting to think you were never gonna come.”

Johnny looked down at his twiddling thumbs. 

“Yeah. I didn’t know if there was anything left for us to talk about.” Johnny admitted. 

He sensed Robby nod as he sat down on the hard bench. 

“How’s Diaz?” He asked. 

It comforted Johnny to know that his son atleast had that much decency left in him. Just enough to feel guilty about what he'd done. 

“He’ll live. Maybe even walk again.” Johnny told him. “But he’ll never win any more championships. Thanks to you.” He finished bitterly. 

Robby accepted the answer, quietly. 

“Nothing, huh?” Johnny asked. “You got nothing to say?”

“Like what? “I’m sorry”?” Robby asked. “What can I say that will make a difference?”

“Nothing.” Johnny agreed. “Except, maybe the truth. Tell me why you did it?”

Robby looked at him, pleading, but Johnny didn’t let up.

“Do you really hate me that much?” He asked. “That you would do that to Miguel just to hurt me?”

“No.” Robby shook his head. “I didn’t mean to… do that.”

“But you did want to hurt him, right?” Johnny asked. Robby nodded, not looking up. “Because you wanted to hurt me through him?”

“No!” Robby shook his head again. “I didn’t… I wanted… I didn’t want him to win at everything.”

Johnny waited for him to continue and after a moment, he did. 

“I wanted you to care about me instead of him.” Robby finished. 

“I did care about you, Robby.” Johnny told him. “You just never gave me a chance to show it. Don’t put that on Miguel.”

Robby nodded, still not looking up and staring at his hands. 

“I  _ am  _ sorry.” He said, quietly.

“Yeah. Looks like it.” Johnny said sarcastically. 

Robby looked up briefly to found his father's eyes fixed on his bruises and looked down again, ashamed. If the kid was still getting into fights - after everything…

“I don’t want to fight anymore.” He confessed. “I want to give up karate. But they are not letting me.”

Johnny looked down at his hands to make a point and was surprised at what he found. There were no bruises there. He knew that no matter how experienced a fighter you were, in a real fight, you always ended up with a few bruised knuckles. But Robby’s were clean.  He was telling the truth about that much, atleast. 

“Hang in there, okay?” Johnny told him. “No one can make you fight if you don’t want to. They’ll get bored and leave you alone.”

Robby didn’t say anything. The kid needed something from him, Johnny could see that clear as day. And he knew what it was. But he couldn’t give him that - not yet. 

But maybe he could give him some hope?

“Look, this isn’t all on you. We all made mistakes, alright? Plenty of them. But what you did...” Johnny shook his head. “I can’t even look at you right now.”

Robby didn’t reply, so Johnny continued. 

“But I  _ am  _ trying to forgive you. And maybe someday, I will. I just need some time.” He finished. “So… you just need to toe the line and do things right from now on, okay?”

Robby didn’t reply for a moment - but he finally looked Johnny in the eye. And his face impossibly went paler. 

“Is that it?” He asked, his face expressionless. “Is that all you wanted to say?”

“Yeah. That’s all.” Johnny replied. 

“I guess we are done then.” Robby said, flatly. “Bye dad. Take care of yourself.”

* * *

Johnny cringed at the memory.  _ Maybe someday I’ll forgive you?  _ What kind of father said that to his own son. 

_ A shitty one. That’s what you’ve always been to him - a shitty dad.  _

He’d thought that Robby had learned his lesson. That he understood where all that anger and hatred could lead him. He’d understood why Robby wouldn’t want anything to do with him, why he hadn’t tried to get in touch after he got out of juvie - but atleast he’d expected the kid to be on the right path. He didn’t think he had anything to worry about. 

_ And that’s why you are such a horrible father. Parents should  _ **_always_ ** _ worry about their children. That’s what they are supposed to do. But not you, right? You just put him out of your mind because thinking about him makes you feel bad about yourself. And then you just forget about him. You don’t deserve to call yourself his father.  _

He needed to fix this. He wanted to go over to the dojo right away and drag Robby out of there - but he already knew that wasn’t going to work. He’d never been able to reach Robby. He’d never been able to figure out what his son needed and how to give it to him. And he **had** to figure that out first. 

And for that, he’d need the help of the only person who  _ had  _ gotten through to Robby in the past. 

Steeling his nerves, Johnny firmly knocked on the door. 

“He did what?” Daniel stared at him and shook his head in disbelief. “No… he wouldn’t. Robby is a smart kid. He’d never fall for Kreese’s bullshit.”

“I don’t know what to tell you.” Johnny said, glumly. “Hawk said that - ”

“Hawk?” Daniel jumped at the name. “The same kid who stole Mr. Miyagi’s medal? Sure - he’s reliable.”

Johnny resisted the urge to defend his student. Clearly, despite having given up on the war, LaRusso had no love in him for any of the Cobras. But an argument here wouldn’t do Robby any good. 

“He’s not lying. Not about this.” Johnny reassured him. “Did Robby say anything to you? About Kreese trying to contact him?”

LaRusso looked at him weirdly. “Johnny, the last time I him was at your house. The day we got into that fight.”

“I mean after that.” Johnny clarified. “When you visited him in juvie.”

“I never went to see him.” Daniel admitted, ashamed. “I… there were other things that needed my attention.”

_ Things more important than your student?  _ Johnny almost said, but stopped himself. He was in no position to criticize Larusso here. 

“What about you?” Daniel asked. “You didn’t notice Kreese coming after him under your own roof?”

_ What is he talking about? _

“Robby’s not living with me.” Johnny told him. “He’s living with his mom.”

Daniel looked at him in stunned silence like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. 

“What?”

“Johnny… Shannon’s in rehab.” Daniel said, quietly. “She went back about three months ago - _before_ Robby got out of juvie. She called me the day he was supposed to get out and asked me to check in on him.”

Johnny couldn’t see straight for a moment. 

“So… who has Robby been living with all this time?” He asked. 

“Kreese?” Daniel guessed. 

“No.” Johnny shook his head. “He got out of juvie over two months ago and he has only been at Cobra Kai for a couple of weeks.”

Johnny got up to his feet and found his legs shaking as he did. It was just one failure after another. His son had been homeless and he hadn’t even known. 

“Why wouldn’t he come back to you?” Daniel asked. 

“Because… I didn’t tell him he could.” Johnny admitted as the world blurred around him. “I didn’t say...”

_ You can come back,  _ That’s what he should’ve said.  _ Yes, I’m angry with you and yes, it’ll take me some time to forgive you, but you’ll always have a home with me. I’m here anytime you need me, no questions asked.  _

“But why would he go to Kreese?” Daniel was still trying to process that. 

“Kreese got to him.” Johnny told him. “That’s how he works - he preys on kids that are vulnerable and alone and gets his hooks into them. And we left him vulnerable like that.”

“LaRusso, you need to help him.” Johnny said, anxiously. “He respects you. He listens to you. He’ll listen again. If you talk to him, tell him to get out from under Kreese...”

Daniel was hesitating. He worked his jaw and his fist was clenching and unclenching. 

“I can’t.” He said. “I tried before and look at how that ended. Amanda would never let me go down that road again.”

“You’re gonna let your wife tell you what to do?” Johnny said, scornfully. “C’mon. Be a man.”

Daniel regarded him coldly, with a hint of disgust. 

“A man takes care of his family.” He said. “That’s what I’m doing - taking care of _my_ family. You should take care of yours.”

_ He has you there.  _ Johnny had no right telling others to step up if he couldn’t. 

“I want to. More than anything.” He confessed. “I just want to go over there and drag him back with me. But he won’t listen to me. He never listens to me.”

“He doesn’t have to.” Daniel shook his head, incredulously. “Johnny, he’s a kid. He’s only 17. He  _ has  _ to listen. Kreese can’t train him without your permission.”

What was LaRusso talking about now?

“Johnny - it’s the law.” Daniel explained. 

Was he right? Could it be…? Johnny had needed to get permission slips for all of his students. 

“I… can do that.” Johnny said, wondering. 

He kept thinking about it as Daniel led him to the door. And the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Shannon did have custody and she was the primary care-giver - but she wasn’t around right now. So Johnny was responsible by default, right? If it came down to it, he could take it to a judge to settle the matter. 

And then another thing occurred to him as he stepped out. 

“Wait a second.” He said, turning around. “Does this mean I could’ve taken him from you whenever I wanted?”

Daniel smiled smugly. “Goodbye, Johnny.”

He closed the door. 


	6. Johnny II

His dojo was more or less the same. Kreese had barely changed anything there. Even the words on the wall were still crooked. The bell rang as Johnny stepped through the doors and saw his son hunched over the mats. 

“Be with you in a minute.” Robby said, without looking up. “Sensei! Someone here to see you!”

Johnny stood there quietly, his heart hammering, as he saw Robby clean the mats. He was completely focused on the task and his hands moved clockwise and counter-clockwise in wide, methodical circles. 

Then he saw Kreese stroll out of the office with a cigar in his mouth. His eyes widened as they fell on his former student.

“Johnny?” He said, smiling wide. “Are you here for your job back?”

Johnny didn’t bother responding. His eyes were glued to Robby. He saw him stiffen at the mention of his name and slowly got up to his feet. Johnny waited with bated breath for him to turn around and look at him. And to see the look in his eyes. Anger? Fear? Disgust?... Hope? He wasn’t sure what he’d see there. 

He saw nothing. Robby’s face was impassive as he looked at his father. 

“I’m here for my son.” Johnny said. 

“You don’t have a son here.” Kreese replied, taking a drag from his cigar. “Your son is in a wheelchair back home. Here, there is only me and my student.”

Johnny ignored him.

“Robby, c’mon.” He said sternly. “It’s time to go home.”

“I  _ am _ home.” Robby replied evenly. “Cobra Kai is my home now - like it used to be yours.”

Johnny took a deep breath. He’d let Robby yell at him later - scream at him, hurl abuses, whatever he needed to make himself feel better. But right now, the priority was getting him away from Kreese.

“I wasn’t asking.” He said. “I’m still your dad and you are gonna do as I say.”

“You were never his dad.” Kreese told him. “I’ve been more of a father to the boy than you have been your entire life.”

Johnny ignored that too. He knew he had no defense for that. 

“Well, the law says I am.” He said, confidently. “His mom’s not around and he’s still a kid - so he has to do as I say.”

Kreese chuckled at that in a way that made Johnny uncomfortable.

“What’s so funny?” He asked. 

“Nothing.” Kreese replied. “Just that your ‘son’ here is smarter than the both of us. He has been a step ahead of you all along.”

Johnny looked at Robby questioningly. 

“I got emancipated.” Robby replied, looking smug.

“What?” That hit Johnny like a punch to the gut.

“It means I’m legally an adult.” Robby explained. “And you can’t make me do anything. Not live with you. Not go to school and not quit Cobra Kai.”

_ I know what emancipated - shit! That was supposed to be my trump card.  _

“You can’t do that!” Johnny argued, horrified. 

“It’s already done.” Kreese told him, still laughing. “I have a copy of the papers in my desk if you’d like a look.”

_ What am I supposed to do now? I have no option left - except for begging.  _

“Robby please! You have to listen to me.” He pleaded. “You can’t stay here with him. It’s not safe. You have to come home with me.”

“Johnny - ” Kreese began, but Robby cut him off. 

“Sensei. I got this.” He said, before turning to Johnny. “Go back with you, huh? Does that mean you forgive me now?”

Johnny closed his eyes in regret. Robby had every right to throw that in his face. 

“I’m sorry about what I said. And you have every right to be mad.” Johnny admitted. “But don’t let your anger mess up your own life.”

“I’m not mad.” Robby shrugged. “I just don’t trust you. I’m not gonna stick around waiting for you to change your mind again.”

_ I won’t,  _ he wanted to say. But he knew he’d never given Robby a reason to believe him. 

“You can’t trust  _ him _ .” He argued instead. “You think he is on your side, but he’s not. The only thing Kreese cares about is winning.”

“I know.” Robby smirked. “So do I.”

"Then come train with me!" Johnny pleaded. "I can teach you everything he can."

Kreese found that amusing. "Johnny-boy!" He said chomping on his cigar. "I might've taught you everything you know - but I didn't teach you everything _I_ know."

"That's right." Robby agreed. "He taught you how to win, but he didn't teach you how to be a winner, did he?"

“And what happens if you don’t win? Do you know what he’ll do then?”

“What? Beat me up? Choke me out?” Robby shrugged again. “I’m okay with that. Atleast it’s better than being left on the streets to starve.”

_ I didn’t know. I’d never have left you like that had I known. _

_ You should have. _

“You don’t have to live with me.” Johnny offered. “I’ll give you all the money you need. I’ll sign anything. Just get away from him.”

“Enough, Johnny. Now you are just embarrassing yourself.” Kreese said sadly, breathing out the smoke through his nose. “What happened before with you is never going to happen again.”

“Yeah - I’ve heard that before.” Johnny scoffed. “I bought your whole changed man bullshit once - I’m not buying it again.”

“No, dad, it won’t happen again because unlike you, I’m not a loser.” Robby said with a sneer. 

“I did tell you that I’ll never let my students lose.” Kreese added. 

_ He has gotten to him already. Kreese has wormed his way inside Robby’s brain and is now living there. _

“You don’t want to win his way.” Johnny made another futile attempt.

“Yeah - I do.” Robby replied. “I want to show everyone what a true Cobra looks like.”

_ Could that be the way to get to him then? A way to get through to him? _

“You think you know what it means to be a Cobra? His way?” Johnny asked. “You have no idea what that’s like. His way - that doesn’t make you a winner, Robby. It makes you a loser like me. And… I’ll prove it to you.”

Kreese laughed again. 

“I was wondering when it’d come to that.” He said. “Because it always comes down to the same thing, right?”

“Yeah, it does.” Johnny agreed. “My student against yours - in the tournament. If I win, you let Robby go. You don’t put a hand on him, you don’t even touch him - got it. Robby comes back to live with me. And he gives up fighting. For good.”

“And if I win, you leave me alone - for good.” Robby countered immediately. “No more  _ bullshit  _ about trying to be a dad.”

“And who are you gonna put up against him?” Kreese mocked. “You think that cripple will stand a chance?”

“I’ll figure it out.” Johnny replied. “You don’t need to worry about that.”

All or nothing - that’s how it was going to be now. Johnny took a deep breath. He could do this. He’d trained a winner before and he could do it again. And he probably won’t need to do it from scratch. He could already feel the plan starting to form in his head. 


	7. Miguel I

Miguel leaned on his cane heavily as he knocked on Johnny’s door. He’d finally made that breakthrough in his therapy and with this meeting today, it really felt like things were starting to look up. The door opened and Demetri let him in. 

“You here for the Council of Elrond too?” He asked. 

Miguel rolled his eyes.  _ Never change, Demetri. Your nerdiness has been the one constant in all this insanity.  _

Demetri offered him a hand in support, but Miguel pushed it away. He needed to start learning how to walk on his own after all. Even so, Demetri stood closeby, ready to help him if he fell. 

Others were already there - Sensei Lawrence on the couch, Mr. LaRusso leaning against the kitchen wall, looking skeptical - and Hawk on the chair, scowling at everybody. 

It wasn’t easy convincing him to be here, but Miguel had managed to anyway. 

“How could you trust that guy?” Hawk had asked. “He practically said that he was always going to put Robby above us.”

“Dude - he’s his son...” Miguel had tried. 

“How are you okay with this? After what he did?”

Miguel wasn’t. He probably never would be.

“This isn’t about Robby, okay. It’s about you guys.” Miguel had explained. “We all want the same thing here, right? For things to go back to how they were? Back when Sensei Lawrence was running things? When you weren’t losing friends by the day and weren’t getting fresh bruises every time you stepped on the mat?”

Hawk had been sullen as he nodded. 

“I’m not asking you to trust him. But you both want the same thing right now. So just… hear him out. He has a plan.”

“You want to open Cobra Kai again?” Mr. LaRusso scoffed. “That’s your plan?”

“No - just a dojo.” Sensei said, shaking his head. “I know things can’t be the same as before. I’m not making the same mistakes again. That’s why… I asked the mouthy kid to be here.”

“Excuse me?” Demetri said, indignant and yet somehow missing the fact that he automatically knew that Johnny was referring to him. 

“I need someone to call me on my bullshit.” Johnny explained. “And I guess I need a student who won’t hesitate to run to the teacher if any of the others step out of line. You seem like that guy.”

“Gee - thanks.” Demetri rolled his eyes. “And why would I put myself through that?”

“You said you were still looking for the protection of a dojo.” Miguel reminded him, quietly. 

“Not one where I’ll get my ass kicked every day.” Demetri replied. “That would defeat the whole purpose.”

“That won’t happen. I promise. I'll do things differently.” Johnny said, sincerely. “I’ll also need some place to practice. I can’t afford to rent anything right now.”

“Which explains why I’m here.” Daniel said, thoughtfully. “I guess... I can help with that. You can have your classes at Mr. Miyagi’s old house - but only until the tournament. After that you are on your own. And no trashing the place.” He finished with a glare at Hawk. 

“Okay - so what’s the plan?” Demetri asked. “Open a dojo and hope that Robby comes running back?”

Johnny looked at him surprised for a moment. 

“Right… I didn’t tell you all.” He said, realizing. “I made a deal with Kreese. If my dojo wins the tournament this year, then Robby has to quit Cobra Kai and give up fighting for good.”

Miguel already knew, but he saw that that got both Hawk and Demetri's attention. 

“He agreed to that?” Hawk asked, leaning forward, interested. "Why?"   


“Doesn’t mean you get to declare open season on him, okay?” Johnny said immediately. “I don’t care if you become friends or not - but once it’s over, nobody touches my kid. Got it?”

Hawk considered it for a moment and then nodded. 

“You didn’t answer his question.” Demetri pointed out. “Why would Robby agree to that?”

“Because Kreese has filled his head with bullshit about winning.” Johnny explained. “That’s what he does to everyone - teach them that winning is the only thing that matters, no matter how you do it. But we know better now and we’ll show that to Robby too.”

Sensei did have a way with words, Miguel thought proudly. He knew how to inspire his students. And despite knowing that he won’t be fighting, Miguel still felt the fire burning in his belly. Together, they’d figure out a way to beat Kreese and Robby. 

Demetri, however, wasn’t so easily impressed. 

“That’s all well and good, but this is Robby we are talking about. I’ve seen him in action. Dude’s a machine. I hope you don’t think that I could beat him.”

They all snorted out a laugh - even Mr. LaRusso. 

“Hey - I beat Eli here.” Demetri said, indignantly. 

“You got lucky.” Hawk replied immediately. 

Demetri looked like he was about to object, but thought better of it. And the question still hung in the air. With Miguel not up to the task, who could pick up the mantle?

“Sam’s a pretty good fighter.” Miguel suggested quietly. 

“No!” Mr. LaRusso deadpanned. 

“You said you were gonna help.” Johnny reminded him. 

“And I will. But I’m not putting my daughter in Kreese’s crosshairs.” Daniel replied firmly. 

If not Sam, then there was only just one option let. Everyone realized that together as they turned to look at Hawk.

“I...” Hawk hesitated under the weight of their gaze. “I’m not sure I can win. I’ve tried before.”

“Maybe not right now.” Johnny said, encouragingly. “But with more training...”

“What do you think I have been doing these past few months?” Hawk responded. “I’ve been training like crazy and it’s still not enough.”

“You’ve been training with Kreese - not me.” Johnny reminded him. 

“I was before.” Hawk returned. “It wasn’t enough back then either. I can’t...”

He was afraid, Miguel realized. And that was proof how far Robby had gone. Hawk wasn’t afraid of fighting, he wasn’t afraid of getting hurt and he wasn’t afraid of losing - so that meant that Robby had made him fear something worse. 

“It’s not always about more training. But about the right kind of training.” Daniel said thoughtfully. “You have the potential to be better - but you are too aggressive. Too out of control. If you can get your emotions under control...”

_ Is he saying what I think he is saying? _

“You can train him too.” Miguel suggested. “Miyagi Do is good at emotional balance and stuff, right? If both you and Sensei train him together - ”

Mr. LaRusso shook his head. “Miyagi Do is over. I never should’ve opened it in the first place - not for these wrong reasons.”

“Helping these kids is the wrong reason?” Johnny asked, incredulously. “Helping my son - your student - is the wrong reason?”

“Johnny... ” Daniel shook his head again. “No. That’s what I thought I was doing the last time. That’s what I told myself...”

“You can still help with the training.” Johnny insisted. “You know Robby. You know his moves - you taught them to him. And I know Kreese’s moves. Between the two of us, we should be able to get Hawk ready for whatever Robby can throw at him.”

Mr. LaRusso hesitated. 

“I’ll think about it.” He said, finally. 

Hawk still wasn’t convinced though. “Sensei, I’m not sure I can… maybe someone else...”

“Dude what did he do to you?” Miguel couldn’t hold back anymore. “Why are you so scared of him?”

Hawk didn’t even bother denying him. 

“He said he’d mess me up.” He replied. 

“He’s a bully, alright.” 

“No - he is not just a bully. I know bullies. I’ve dealt with them my whole life.” Hawk insisted. “They just want to mess with you a little and then leave you alone. Keene is a psycho. What he does to you stays with you forever. You know that better than anyone.”

Miguel couldn’t argue with that. But he could still argue. 

“All the more reason to stop him.” He said. “Do you want to be a real badass or not? You have to get over your fear to do that.”

That got him, as Miguel knew it would. He knew his friend and he knew that what Hawk feared the most was living his life in fear again. Hawk still looked distressed, but he nodded anyway. 

“You know, nobody said that we just had to put up one contender against Robby.” Demetri suggested. “Does it matter which student wins as long as it’s from our dojo?”

And that was why they needed the guy with them.

“Hawk, what about the others?” Johnny asked. “Can you convince them to quit Cobra Kai too?”

“They are miserable.” Hawk admitted. “After what Robby did, they are scared of him. And he always goes too hard during training. I can talk to them.”

“And I can talk to the other Miyagi-Dos.” Demetri suggested. “We all want to put this all behind us, right? Maybe the two dojos coming together would be a good start.”

Yes. It was all coming together. Kreese wouldn’t know what hit him. And neither would Robby. 

* * *

Not for the first time, Miguel regretted not making things right with Miyagi-Do sooner. He’d have loved to train here - in this charming Japanese themed house. Maybe once it was all over, Mr. LaRusso could be persuaded to make the arrangement permanent. Sensei would start paying rent, ofcourse and Miguel would still have to convince his mom to let him get back into karate - but he could already see himself here, sparring with Hawk on that platform on the pond. 

“That’s all you got?” Sam mocked. “No wonder Robby keeps kicking your ass.”

Miguel smiled at what had become a familiar scene by now. The other students had left for the day, but Hawk had stayed behind for his special training under Sensei’s watchful eye. 

This was the most Mr. LaRusso was willing to relent. And that had been after a lot of pleading from Sam to be a part of it. She wasn’t going to join Johnny’s dojo and she wasn’t going to participate in the tournament - but she could help Hawk with his "mental conditioning". It helped that she was still the only fighter they had who could go toe-to-toe with him. 

Miguel had been shocked the first time he’d heard her talk like that. She was always the sweet, gentle girl in his mind. But when she cut loose… oh boy. 

And Hawk needed this, desperately. He needed to learn how to get his temper under control, especially against someone like Robby who knew exactly how to get under his skin. He needed to develop a thicker skin and he needed every bit of help he could get for that. 

“C’mon, Sam. Kick his pansy ass.” Aisha yelled from the sidelines. "Show him what a bitch he is."

Another measured ploy - Hawk couldn’t let anything distract him. 

And he did. He rushed forward a little too hard and Sam neatly sidestepped him before flipping him over. 

“Good job.” Sensei said sarcastically. “You almost managed to keep your temper for the whole minute.”

Hawk scowled and accepted Sam’s hand helping him get up. 

Hawk was getting better though. Miguel could see the improvement with every class. And for the first time, he was a little jealous of his friend. When he had his aggression under control, it almost seemed like he was better than Miguel had been before the fall. Having two senseis training you really made a difference. 

Not that Mr. LaRusso was teaching him karate. Not really. He mostly just coached him on Robby’s moves, telling him how and when he was leaving openings that Robby could take advantage of or giving him pointers on areas Robby was weak in. But he wouldn’t teach anyone his precious Miyagi-Do techniques. Those Hawk had to pick up from sparring with Sam. 

And he was picking up quite a bit. Hawk was winning almost 9 out of every 10 rounds against Sam. 

“You think he’s ready?” Miguel asked her as she wiped herself with a towel. With the tournament only two weeks away, there was little margin for error here. 

“I don’t know.” Sam said, looking back at Hawk with concern. “If Robby was the same as before, then maybe… but I don’t know how good he is now.”

Miguel nodded. Robby had gotten better too - they all had to admit that. And with Kreese training him…

“And Kreese teaches his students to fight dirty.” Sam said what he was thinking. “ _We_ can’t do that. We can’t win _his_ way.”

“I know.” Miguel agreed. 

“I’m worried that he might try to pull some sort of trick.” Sam told him. “He might tell one of his other students to take Hawk out. Even if that student gets disqualified, Robby would still...”

She stopped and stared at him as he grinned. 

“There are no other students.” Miguel told her. “Kreese just has Robby left.”

“What?” Sam asked, surprised. 

Miguel told her all about it. They already knew that a lot of students had left Cobra Kai along with Hawk and rejoined Sensei Lawrence. But some of them had been too afraid of Kreese to leave. And Tory wasn’t welcome here. 

That one still rankled. For all his talk of forgiveness, Mr. LaRusso wouldn’t budge when it came to admitting Tory into the hallowed halls of Miyagi house. Not after what she’d tried to do to Sam. This was one thing he absolutely refused to let go of. Anyone who tried to hurt his daughter was not welcome near him or his. 

Sensei had called him out on the hypocrisy of it right away. 

“You won’t forgive Tory for what she  _ tried  _ to do, but you are okay forgiving Robby for what he actually did to her?”

“ _She_ is not my daughter.” Mr. LaRusso had replied flatly. 

Tory was left with no choice but to stick with Kreese - even as the others quit one after the other. That’s what she’d told Miguel when she’d come to see him this morning with a sprained wrist.

“Did Robby do that?” He’d asked, angrily.

Tory had shook her head. “Sensei Kreese did. I don’t know what to do. He has been getting angrier and angrier about kids quitting on him. He keeps talking about how they’ll all come crawling back once Robby wins, but he still gets pissed. He says he’ll make them all pay for deserting once it’s over. But they all still stopped coming and I’m the only one left. I was only late by like, five minutes...”

“You have to quit.” Miguel had insisted. “Doesn’t matter if you can’t join Sensei Lawrence right now, but you have to get out of there. Once it’s over and Sensei has his own place, you’ll be back in Cobra Kai. I mean - Iron Eagle.”

She’d smiled at the name, but still shook her head. “I don’t know what they’ll do to me.”

“Can’t be worse than what’s happening now.”

It’d taken some convincing but he’d gotten her to agree eventually. She just needed to lay low for a while and in two weeks, it’d all be over. Robby was the only one Kreese had left and once he lost and was forced to give up karate, Kreese would be left with nothing. 

“That’s great news.” Sam said uncertainly. 

And Miguel knew the reason for it. She might not like Tory, but even she could see that Tory didn’t deserve what she was going through. 

“Maybe I should talk to my dad.” She suggested slowly. “If I tell him that I want to make things right with Tory… it’s not like it was _all_ her fault.”

There was the girl he’d fallen in love with, Miguel thought, smiling. He’d thought about asking her out again a dozen times before - but there was still something standing in the way. 

“Still think your boyfriend is a good guy inside?” He couldn’t resist being snide in that moment.

“Miguel...” She sighed. “If I can agree to put things aside with Tory then can’t you - ?”

“It’s not even in the same league.” Miguel said, indignantly. “Tory lost her shit for one day. Robby has been like this for months. And he hurt people way worse than Tory ever did. There is no excuse for what he has done.”

“He didn’t have anyone.” Sam argued. “We all left him alone and Kreese got his hooks into him. This is as much about saving him from Kreese as saving others. He is misguided and he needs to be shown the right path.”

Sam’s mouth, but Mr. LaRusso’s words. And Sensei’s. 

This was one thing their little alliance could never truly agree on. Both Sensei and Mr. LaRusso were desperate to save Robby. To redeem him. And as far as Miguel was concerned, the guy was already beyond redemption. 

Robby living with Sensei after this was all over was the part that worried him the most. Sensei had been adamant about everything being settled during the All-Valley but Miguel wasn’t sure how he was going to look at the guy without punching him. 

“Don’t give me that bullshit.” He told Sam. “At some point, he has to take responsibility for his own actions. If it were up to me, he’d be back in juvie for what he did to Tory.”

“Can we not argue, please?” Sam pleaded. 

Miguel nodded tersely. This argument never went anywhere. The only thing they agreed on for now was that dealing with Kreese had to be the priority and the All-Valley was where they were going to do it. 

And that was good enough for now.


	8. Miguel II

“C’mon ref!” Miguel yelled angrily, even though he knew it was of no use. 

This was not a good sign. The tournament had started pretty well. The look on Kreese’s face as he watched all his former students walking in in their Iron-Eagle colors was something to behold. He’d gone purple with rage at the sight of black and blue. But Robby had just looked at them impassively - never betraying a thought. 

Hawk’s first match had gone well too. He’d won it 3-0 without missing a single hit. 

But then Robby had outdone him by winning his match 1-0. The whole crowd had winced at the crunch they’d heard as Robby’s elbo had connected to his opponent’s shoulder. The guy had fallen to the floor, clutching his broken collarbone and unable to continue. 

He was more dangerous than before - Miguel could see that clearly now. And for the first time in weeks, he found himself doubting Hawk’s chances. 

The second match didn’t do much to bolster his confidence. 

“What was that move?” Miguel said aloud. He was sure he’d seen it before, but never in a dojo. “That looked like...”

“A wrestling move.” Mr. LaRusso supplied. He’d gone stiff and pale beside him.

That was it. But… not exactly?   


“Where the hell did he learn something like that?” Sam asked from the other side. “It’s not one of ours, right?”

Mr. LaRusso shook his head and got up. He excused himself and headed towards where Sensei was standing with his students. Curios himself, Miguel stood up and followed him. He barely needed to use his cane anymore and he could keep pace with him. 

“What the hell Larusso? What’s going on here?” Johnny asked angrily as Mr. LaRusso got there. “This is a fucking karate tournament. Punches and kicks and throws only. Wrestling moves shouldn’t be allowed.”

“They are not.” Daniel agreed. “But… there isn’t a clear line. The rule of thumb is that no contact with your opponent should last more than 2 seconds - and Robby kept it under that.”

“He still gave that poor kid whiplash.” Sensei said. “That’s another one out of commission. I know he didn’t learn that from Kreese.”

“Well he didn’t learn that from me.” Mr. Larusso replied. 

Miguel looked at Hawk and saw the hint of nervousness he couldn’t hide. 

“Guys, this is what he wants.” He said, immediately. “He’s trying to get in our heads. He’s striking hard to intimidate us. But that’s good news. It means he is scared of Hawk. He isn’t sure he can beat him. You got this.”

Hawk smiled at his encouragement. “We got this.”

Miguel wished he felt as certain as he’d sounded. 

Mikey faced Robby next and got taken out by a kick to the face before he could even put up a defense. One after the other, Robby demolished his opponents - never letting them score a single point and never scoring the whole three himself. The crowd eventually caught on to his tricks and booed - and Robby flipped them off before turning his back on them. 

“He’s fighting at close range.” Johnny said out loud before turning to Hawk. “He’s using more elbows and knees. He’s getting so close to his opponents that they don’t have enough distance for a proper strike. Use that. Keep your distance and you’ll throw him off-balance.”

Hawk nodded, still watching intently. 

Mr. LaRusso had gone back to the seats, but Miguel decided to stay there with Sensei and others. He needed to be by Hawk’s side through this. 

Though it wasn’t like Hawk needed his help. He’d really grown as a fighter. Unlike Robby, he did hold back against his opponents. Maybe he lost a point or two along the way, but he won his victories fair and square. And he never lost his cool. The crowd could see that and they loved him for it. 

In the end, it came down to Hawk vs Robby as predicted. The two competitors glared at each-other from across the mats and Robby ran his hand through his short hair in a mocking gesture. Miguel felt Hawk stiffen up after that. 

“Don’t let him get in your head, man.” He told him. “He wants you off your game.”

Hawk nodded stiffly, his eyes focused. 

Robby was overconfident, Miguel told himself. He was smirking like he’d already won. He had no idea what Hawk was capable of now. 

The two fighters stood across from each-other on the mat and bowed. They took their fighting positions and with the whistle, clashed in the middle. Hawk took the lead, advancing, pushing Robby back with calm aggression and Miguel’s heart beat faster as he saw Robby begin to drop his guard. 

And then Robby side-stepped Hawk’s punch, stepped up right into his face and punched his exposed mid-section.

“Point! Keene!” The ref shouted.

_ He’s better.  _ Miguel realized, with a chill flowing down his spine. That one had been a clean hit. Robby had gotten Hawk fair and square and nobody could deny that. 

“Keep your distance!” Johnny shouted. “Focus!”

Hawk was focused on Robby, but his slight nod told Miguel that he’d heard Sensei. They squared off on the mat again. 

Robby rushed forward aggressively this time, feinting to one side and then the other to confuse Hawk about where the punch would come from. Hawk moved backwards, keeping his eyes trained on Robby’s shoulders and his hands up guarding his upper body. But Robby kicked out at the last moment and his shin connected to Hawk’s knee.

Miguel felt his heart drop and the leg bent sideways at an unnatural angle. But then it sprang back as Robby’s next kick connected to Hawk’s stomach through his dropped guard. Hawk fell back onto the mat, clutching his leg and the referee stepped in between them. 

“Warning! Illegal contact to the knee! No point!”

_ Just a warning?  _ Miguel thought, indignantly.  _ What about…? _

And then he realized the strategy. The asshole had been saving it up. You got one warning throughout the tournament because accidents could happen but the next dirty trick and you were disqualified. Robby had skirted the edge so far, but never explicitly broken a rule during a fight. Until now. He was the better fighter - that was obvious to Miguel now. He could win without fighting dirty. But he didn’t just want to win, he wanted to demolish Hawk. To really hurt him, despite this being just a tournament.

“Time!” Johnny called out and brought Hawk back limping to their corner. 

Robby gave them an impassive look and turned around, kneeling on the mat. 

“You alright?” Johnny asked Hawk. “You okay to continue?”

“Yes Sensei.” He replied through gritted teeth. “It hurts like a mother, but I can still go on. Nothing’s broken - I’m sure of it.”

“You don’t have to.” Miguel said, immediately. “You can forfeit.”

Hawk gave him an incredulous look. “You don’t think I can win?”

“No - it’s not that.” Miguel replied immediately. “He’s out to hurt you, Hawk. Really hurt you.”

“He can try.” Hawk sneered. “Sensei, I can do it. Really.”

_ Tell him no. Stop him.  _

Johnny hesitated and then nodded. Hawk smiled and stepped back on the mat. 

“Winning isn’t everything, Sensei.” Miguel pleaded. 

“I know.” Johnny agreed. “But it’s still important.”

_ Was it? Did it really matter anymore? _

“Sensei - nobody is going to think less of you if you tell Hawk to forfeit.” Miguel tried again. “We all know who Kreese really is now. No one will be dumb enough to join him again, no matter what. This victory doesn’t matter - Kreese has already lost all his students, so you’ve already won.”

“All but one.” Johnny replied calmly. 

This was about Keene, Miguel realized, getting angry. Johnny still thought that his son could be saved. He wasn’t willing to give up on him. And Hawk was going to pay the price for his stubbornness. 

They clashed on the mats again and Robby took the lead this time. Hawk slithered back dodging his blows and drawing him in. He bent backwards to avoid a roundhouse and it looked like he lost his balance and fell. But he caught himself with his hand on the mat and Miguel’s heart soared as he recognized the move.

_The two-legged kick_. Mr. LaRusso hadn’t taught him that, but he must have learned it somehow. Hawk was going to get that bastard with his own move and Miguel couldn’t imagine anything more fitting. 

Robby neatly side-stepped the kick and swung his own leg around, his heel catching Hawk right across his undefended ribs. 

“Point! Keene!”

_ It’s hopeless now,  _ Miguel thought despairing as Sensei checked Haw for broken ribs. Hawk was too hurt already - that last kick had sent him sliding out of bounds clear across the mats - and Robby already had a 2-0 lead. That match was more or less already decided. 

“Not yet.” Johnny insisted. “Hawk can still win.”

Hawk didn’t look sure either. He knew he couldn’t beat Robby now. He’d put up a valiant effort, but Robby had been too good, too smart and too ruthless. But if Sensei told him to keep going, he would.

_ He will always choose Robby over us,  _ Miguel remembered those words with a shudder. Was that what was going on here? Was Sensei so desperate to get Robby back that he was okay letting Hawk get hurt? Even though there was no chance of that happening? Any more fighting was pointless - surely he could see that?

“How?” Miguel asked exasperated. “You can see what’s happening, can’t you? What’s the plan here?”

Johnny thought about it for a moment. 

“Make him cheat.” He said. 

Hawk looked at Miguel, confused and then back at Johnny. 

“He already has a warning.” Johnny explained. “Next iffy move and he’s disqualified. Points won’t matter then - you’ll still win and he won’t even get second place.”

“How do I…?”

“ _ Let _ him hit you - but in the wrong place.” Johnny instructed. “Punch to the face or anything above the knee - it doesn’t matter. Watch his moves, see what he is about to do and at the right time, drop your guard.”

Hawk considered it and then nodded tersely. 

It  _ could  _ work. There was still a chance. And Hawk  _ did  _ want to win after all. Miguel still felt nervous as Hawk limped back into the arena, his arm across his sore midsection.

They started off again and Robby went easy this time. Less aggressive. No - he was toying with Hawk. He could’ve finished it, but he was dragging it out. It was a dick move, but in this case, it worked in their favor. It gave Hawk the chance to wait for his opportunity. 

And then Miguel saw it - a punch headed straight to Hawk’s face. Hawk saw it too and quickly shifted his arm, leaving himself unguarded. 

The fist sailed harmless by Hawk’s head and then Robby curled his arm, wrapping it around Hawk’s neck and pulling him in. Simultaneously, he lifted his knee and dug it right into his opponent’s injured midsection. He let him go as soon as it connected and Hawk fell back with a cry. 

“Point! Keene Wins!”

_ No… _

* * *

“Is he okay?” Moon asked, worried. She’d come there to see Hawk win, but instead…

Miguel shook his head. “Sensei thinks he might have a broken rib. He took him to the hospital.”

The crowd had mostly dispersed after the tournaments and the three of them stood there in the parking lot, waiting for Mr. LaRusso to finish talking to the rest of the committee members. Sam was looking at the ground, her arms protectively wrapped around herself. She hadn’t said a word through the whole thing. 

Miguel didn’t even have the heart to rub it in her face - to ask her if she still thought Robby was worth saving. 

“It wasn’t like last time.” Moon said, holding her elbow with her arm. “Last time was fun and exciting. This… it was disturbing. And...”

“Scary.” Miguel supplied. 

That was it, wasn’t it? They’d done their best and they’d lost - and now Cobra Kai’s reign of terror could truly begin. Kreese would start making good on his threats and there was nothing they could do about it. 

Miguel saw a shadowy figure in the darkness at a distance and turned towards it, hoping that Mr. LaRusso was finally done and they could all go home. It wasn’t him though - it was Robby. He’d changed into his civilian clothes and it looked like he was leaving… but he should’ve left ages ago. Kreese did.

“Robby?” Sam said in surprise - more loudly than she’d intended. 

He stopped and turned, looking towards them. And then he started walking up to them with a glint in his eye that Miguel didn’t like. 

“Get Mr. LaRusso.” Miguel whispered and Moon backed away, going around the cars to avoid Robby. 

Robby didn’t seem to notice her - his eyes were fixed on Miguel and Sam. 

“Well - if it isn’t West Valley High’s favorite couple.” He said, mockingly. “How you guys been?”

_ Is he still bitter about losing Sam?  _ “We are not together.” Miguel said stiffly.

“You’re kidding me?” Robby feigned surprise. “You are still with Tory? Good for you, dude. You are a bigger man than me - dunno if I could’ve put up with a face like that.”

Miguel clenched the handle of his cane, resisting the urge to swing it into the asshole’s face. 

“I’m not with Tory either.” Miguel replied, hoping he’d be satisfied with that. “I’m not seeing anyone.”

Robby frowned. Then his eyes quickly darted downwards and he was smirking again. 

“Can’t make it work, huh?” He said. “Guess your dating days are over.”

Miguel flushed in embarrassment as he understood the implication. 

“Robby, stop it! Please!” Sam pleaded. “Why are you doing this? Why are you being… like this?”

Robby looked at her, quizzically, as if he was considering what she asked. 

“I’m just being myself. My real self.” He shrugged. “Not that phony act I put up to stay with you guys before.”

“No… this isn’t you.” Sam shook her head stubbornly. “You are sweet and good and you are always trying to do the right thing.”

Robby smirked at her. “God, you are hot when you talk like that. Hey, how about you ditch this loser and we go somewhere. Just the two of us.”

Sam looked freaked out and scared. She couldn’t look at him anymore and the predatory look in Robby’s eyes was giving Miguel the chills. 

“C’mon.” Robby said, stepping closer to her. “I can show you what it's like to be with a real winner.”

Instinctively, Miguel stepped in between them. 

“Leave her alone, man.” He said, ready for a fight he had no chance of winning. 

Robby kicked out the cane from under him. Miguel had been leaning on it a little heavily, exhausted from the day of standing on the sidelines and he stumbled forward. Robby grabbed him by his shirt and swung him around, slamming him against the car. He tried to punch the guy, but Robby caught his fist mid-air and pinned it against the roof, twisting it painfully.

“Robby, No!”Sam screamed. “Let him go!”

She threw her fist at him and Robby dodged by stepping backwards without even looking at her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her in between them before Miguel could recover. Sam twisted her body, swinging an elbow back at his and he dodged that as well. 

Sam turned to face him, taking a fighting stance and Robby attacked before she was ready. She raised her arms in defense and he grabbed her wrists, pulling them apart with his superior strength. She tried to kick him, but he twisted his body and her knee glanced off the side of his hip. He pushed against her chest in response, spending her sprawling on the concrete. 

Yelling in rage, Miguel swung his cane towards his head - and Robby caught it mid-air. The next moment, he was crowding Miguel again, twisting his cane out of his hand and pressing it across his throat. Miguel uselessly tried to push him away, to find some leverage to get that wooden stick away from his Adam’s apple. He struggled. Choking…

He saw a movement out of the corner of his eye and Robby was being pulled off him. Hands grabbed the back of his shirt and swung him around, sending him sprawling to the ground. 

_ Mr. LaRusso! Thank God! _

“Stay behind me!” Daniel instructed, shielding them from the other boy. He stood there with his arms raised, ready to fight. 

Robby laughed as he stood up and dusted himself off. He didn’t take a fighting stance. 

“Hey,  _ Sensei. _ ” He said mockingly. “Been a while since we talked.”

“No - you don’t get to call me that!” Mr. LaRusso snarled. “You have _disrespected_ and _dishonored_ everything I’ve ever taught you.”

“No bad students, right? Only bad teachers?” Robby replied with a smug grin of his face. “Isn’t that what Mr. Miyagi always said?”

Daniel was speechless for a moment. 

“He never met someone like you.” He growled. “And you are not my student anymore.”

Robby smiled, as if he was satisfied to hear that. 

“And you are done now, you hear me?” Daniel continued. “I’ll make sure that you and Cobra Kai are banned - from every tournament, every competition, everything. I’ll make sure that you can’t even put up a flier for your dojo.”

Robby laughed derisively. “It’s too late for all that. I’ve already won.”

“You’re gonna find out how little that actually means.” Daniel said. 

“We’ll see about that.” Robby grinned ferally. “See you around, guys.”

He turned around and walked away, but Daniel didn’t relax his stance until Robby was out of sight. 


	9. Miguel III

“I had a dream about him last night.” Tory confessed quietly. “I dreamt that he was a monster with fangs and claws and everything.”

“He is a monster.” Miguel replied. “Even without the fangs.”

Tory shook her head. “But I was right there with him.” She said. “I was a monster too. All patched up and scarred like Frankeinstein. Hawk too. And we were going around attacking everyone - you, my mom, my brother, Sensei Lawrence… Sam... And I was enjoying it. Tearing them up. Ripping them apart.”

Miguel shifted uncomfortably in his chair, uncertain of what to say. He closed the books - they were done studying for the day now - and leaned forward.

“You are not like that.” He comforted her. “It was just a dream.”

“I could’ve been.” Tory replied. “I went to Kreese, didn’t I? And what I tried to do to Sam… I didn’t understand what I was doing until Robby did that to me. I could’ve ended up like him too.”

_ What was she getting at?  _ “You think Robby can be saved too?” 

Tory shook her head again. “That’s not it. It’s that I could’ve ended up like that. Like him. I still could. And that… scares me.”

“You won’t.” Miguel insisted. “Tory, the fact that you are worrying about this proves that you are a good person inside. You might lose your way sometimes, but you’ll never become like them. Robby… and Kreese, there is something fundamentally wrong with them. It’s like they were born rotten. And nothing can help them.”

Tory nodded, but Miguel wasn’t sure if she fully believed him. 

“I just wish it was all over.” She said fearfully. 

And Miguel wished he could tell her that it was - but with Kreese’s threats hanging over their heads…

They were all reeling from the loss. Every single one of them. This would’ve been the time for Kreese to go on the attack - when they were weak and vulnerable. But it’d been three weeks since the tournament and none of them had seen or heard from either Kreese or Robby. 

They were all dealing with it in their own ways. Tory was trying to be invisible - leave her house as little as possible. 

Hawk had gone back to being Eli - his hair back to it’s normal color. Miguel had been worried about him but Eli had reassured him that it was a good thing.

“I never really stopped being afraid, you know.” He’d said. “Hawk was just a front I made up to hide how scared I was. That didn’t work, though - Robby saw right through that. But Mr. LaRusso taught me that I have to accept my insecurities if I truly want to get over them. I can’t go through life trying to distract people from my scar - I have to own it. That’s the right way to deal with it.”

Sam looked like she was still traumatized from the whole confrontation - but not for the reason Miguel thought. 

“He held back.” She’d told him. “I’ve sparred with him enough times to know when he is holding back. And I don’t get it. If he wanted to hurt us, then why wouldn’t he? And if he didn’t, then why is he acting like that? I don’t undestand him...”

Mr. LaRusso was on a crusade himself - trying to convince everyone to ban Cobra Kai. He’d thought Robby’s behavior during the tournament would’ve been enough - except Robby had barely broken any rules. Others argued that they would simply be punishing him for being too good. He kept going to endless debates and discussions and kept coming back frustrated for having made no progress. 

But no one felt the sting of the loss worse than Sensei Lawrence. 

His new dojo had a new home now - after having moved out of the Miyagi house. And with his old students back and a few new ones, things were almost back to normal. Almost - except now Sensei ended every class with the same words - “Stay safe out there. Don’t get into fights. Avoid them anyway you can - even if you have to be a pussy.”

The fire in him was gone. Miguel still couldn’t wait to recover completely and join his dojo, but from what he saw and heard, Johnny was just going through the motions. He taught them the moves and led them through the drills, but everything that had made Cobra Kai energetic, exciting and spirited wasn’t in Iron Eagle anymore.

And once the classes were done, Sensei bought a sixpack and spent the rest of the day drinking. 

“He’s not worth it, Sensei.” Miguel had tried consoling him. “He made his own choice.”

“I didn’t leave him one.” Johnny had replied. “When I started this… the one thing I wanted to do was to save my students from my mistakes. And I somehow managed to do that… but I couldn’t do that for my own son. I let Kreese come back and I let him....”

As for Miguel, he found himself getting paranoid. He knew Robby wasn’t done with him and waiting for him to make a move was killing him. He started feeling the back of his neck prickle like someone was watching him, even when he was alone. He jumped every time he saw some guy with long hair, even though Robby’s were short now. He started giving Hawk’s suggestion for a pre-emptive strike a lot more thought. 

Because if Cobra Kai wasn’t making a move now, then they must be waiting for a bigger one later. They must be planning something, some attack to make the “traitors” pay. And having to live with not knowing what or when or how… that was simply no way to live. 

Miguel simply had to know. He had to figure out. No matter how bad it might turn out to be, it’d be better than not knowing. 

* * *

_ I must be insane.  _

Miguel shuffled on his feet outside the doors of Cobra Kai, adjusting the grip on his cane. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing there - or why he hadn’t told anyone where he was going. 

Talking wasn’t going to help. He knew that already. If you could talk things out with guys like these, then there wouldn’t have been any problems to begin with. But maybe he might find  _ something  _ out. If they were really waiting to make their move, they might not try to hurt him right away - and they might give something up about their plan. It was worth a shot. 

Taking a deep, calming breath, Miguel walked through the door. 

The place was not what he remembered. It was a complete mess. Shattered glass from the mirrors on the wall littered the floor, mixed in with a few broken bottles. It was dusty and dank and made Miguel’s nose tickle. The smell of alcohol was thick in the air. There were holes in the wall, like someone had punched through it. Words like “MINE” and “JOHN KREESE” and “COBRA KAI NEVER DIES” were spray painted all over. But most disturbingly, there was some brown stuff flaking off in places that might’ve been blood.

Feeling uneasy Miguel stepped into the office to find Kreese there. 

The old man looked like the dojo - dilapidated, messy and broken. He was clearly drunk and he looked like he hadn't slept in a while. Empty beer cans were all around him and he was staring at the table when Miguel came in. He didn’t even notice his visitor until Miguel cleared his throat.

“Diaz?” Kreese looked at him numbly for a moment. And then smiled. “Knew you’d be back. You were always the smartest one. Ofcourse you’d be the first one back.”

This wasn’t the John Kreese he knew. From the moment Miguel had met the guy, he’d been imposing, confident - in-charge. This one looked old. Hunched over. 

“What the hell happened here?” Miguel couldn’t help asking. 

“This?” Kreese looked around at the mess. “Don’t worry about it. We’re renovating. Bringing Cobra Kai back bigger and better than before. We’re expanding. Getting even more students. You are smart to join up early - because in a few days, you’re gonna have people lining up outside the door, wanting to sign-up.”

Miguel looked behind him and saw no lines outside the doors.  _ Sure. Looks like it. _

“Don’t pay attention to any of this.” Kreese continued. “Cobra Kai won the All-Valley - did you know that?”

“Yeah - I was there, remember?” Miguel reminded him. “You looked real happy when Robby beat up your old students.”

“Why wouldn’t I be? They were traitors and pussies - all of them.” Kreese said, swelling with pride. “Johnny stole them from me - he lied to them that he could make them winners. But I showed them all. I demolished them. Me. I won. Cobra Kai won. And now they’ll all come crawling back, begging for my forgiveness. Which… I’ll give it to them. I’ll show them mercy - just this one time. I can afford to be generous, because I won.”

_ Has he gone insane? Does he really think anyone’s coming back? _

“I thought Robby won.” Miguel said.  _ You didn’t do any actual fighting. _

“Don’t say that traitor’s name!” Kreese shouted suddenly, his nostrils flaring up.

Miguel took a step back - more confused than afraid - and Kreese got a hold of himself. 

“Robby… was nothing before I found him on the streets.” He said. “I gave him a home. A life. I molded him into a fighter. And he repays me by _betraying_ me?” Kreese almost spat that out. “But you don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

“Robby’s not in Cobra Kai anymore?” Miguel asked, his mind still trying to catch up. 

“He was never really Cobra Kai material.” Kreese shrugged. “Cobra Kai is about camaraderie. Loyalty. Friendship. He never really understood that. I made a mistake thinking I could teach him those things… but all that’s in the past now. You were always the one who really understood Cobra Kai.”

_ Yeah - Sensei Lawrence’s Cobra Kai. Not yours. _

“I’m here to see Robby.” Miguel told him. Well, he was there to see both of them, but Kreese looked like he’d completely lost touch with reality.

“To fight him?” Kreese frowned. “You are not strong enough. Not yet. I know you have some neck issues - but that won’t matter. Trust me, with my training, you’ll be back winning trophies in no time.”

_ Why does he keep saying…? _

“I’m not joining Cobra Kai.” Miguel said clearly. “And nobody else is either.”

“Ofcourse they are.” Kreese brushed him off. “Robby was the problem - so I got rid of him.”

_ Got rid of…?  _ The broken glass. The battered walls. The dried blood… all signs of a struggle…

“Where is Robby, Mr. Kreese?” Miguel asked, going cold all over. 

“That traitor doesn’t matter.” He shrugged again. “And it’s  _ Sensei  _ Kreese. Did you forget that?”

“You are NOT my sensei. And you never will be.” Miguel said, still trying to process. 

Kreese’s face changed in an instance. All cordiality was gone and his features twisted in rage. 

“Then get the FUCK out of my dojo.” He snarled. 

Miguel’s heart was pounding in his ears, but he wasn’t afraid. Not of Kreese. Not with him like this. 

“Not until you tell me what you did to Robby.” He said, standing his ground. 

It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true. Robby had done terrible things, but he didn’t deserve… did he? And when Sensei finds out… this would break him. He’d blame himself and he’d never recover from this. 

“What I…?” Kreese said incredulously. He shuffled through the papers on his desk and then picked one up, throwing it at Miguel. “There! You want to see Robby - go there.”

It looked like some kind of agreement and there was an address on it. 

“What’s this?” Miguel asked. 

“It’s the place I got him. That I  _ paid  _ for.” Kreese replied. 

_ So he is alive? _

Miguel nodded and turned to go, but Kreese called out as he left. 

“Diaz!” He shouted and Miguel stopped, not turning back. “Give that traitor a message from me, will you? Tell him he didn’t win that tournament. Cobra Kai did - and I am Cobra Kai. Which means I won.”

Miguel walked out even as he could hear Kreese yelling behind him. 

“That loser is nothing. He’s no one. I’m the real winner here, you hear me? And I’ll prove it to him. I’ll show everyone. They’ll all come crawling back. They’ll wait in lines. They’ll beg to join my dojo. Yes - MY dojo. Cobra Kai is MINE.”

Kreese was done - even Miguel could see that. He was ranting and raving like a madman about future glories, but he had nothing left. He only had four walls and that wasn’t a dojo - and he’d lose that soon enough. Miguel saw him for who he was - a defeated old man. 

Except - he _had_ won. Cobra Kai had won. All of them - Sensei, Mr. LaRusso, his friends - they’d all banded together to beat Kreese, but he’d won anyway. And yet somehow, he’d still lost. 

So who defeated him? And how?

* * *

“Miguel?” Robby looked at him quizzically through the crack in his door. “What are you doing here?”

Miguel let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He shouldn’t be relieved to find Robby Keene alive and yet… the trashed dojo still gave him chills and he hadn’t been certain what he’d find at the address Kreese had given him. But Robby was there, right in front of him, alive and… not well. 

He’d been fighting again, Miguel saw as the door widened and Robby stood before him. He was wearing a tank-top and Miguel could see that his face, arms and sides were covered in bruises. 

And he felt a twinge of satisfaction at that. Now that he’d confirmed the guy was alive, he was starting to remember all the reasons he’d hated him. And it pleased him to see that there was atleast someone in the world who could give Robby a taste of his own medicine. 

“I came here to talk.” Miguel said calmly, trying to keep his face impassive. 

Robby shrugged and stepped aside, letting him in. 

Miguel walked into the dingy apartment, nervously looking around. It wasn’t much - a small bed in a corner and a kitchenette that barely deserved the name. The bathroom was off in one corner and the “living room” just had a small patio table and a couple of chairs. 

“So - what did you want to talk about?” Robby asked, lounging against the wall.

Miguel took a deep breath. “I want you to leave us alone. Me and all my friends. That includes Sam.”

Robby’s eyes narrowed. “You are the one who came here to see me.” He said. 

Miguel frowned - was that what Robby was doing? Leaving them alone? But why…?

And then he realized. Kreese had been the one to make threats. He was the one who had a reason to come after them. They’d assumed Robby would since he was a student of Cobra Kai… but if that wasn’t the case anymore…

And wasn’t this what Sensei had wanted? To get Robby away from Kreese? That had been one of the big reasons for the whole war and even though they’d lost, it’d ended up happening anyway. 

Something had driven a wedge between Robby and Kreese - and maybe that meant Robby wasn’t beyond redemption after all. 

“I don’t want us to fight anymore.” Miguel said, testing the waters. 

“Figures.” Robby scoffed. “You don’t want your ass kicked.”

“No - that’s not...” Miguel sighed. “I don’t want there to be this hatred between us. I don’t want us to have a reason to fight.”

That seemed to displease Robby for some reason. 

“Then you came to the wrong place, douchebag.” He snarled. “Because I don’t need a reason to kick your ass. Your face is reason enough.”

“Robby - ”

Robby pushed him. 

Miguel stumbled back and panicked as he saw Robby advancing on him. He swung his cane at him and it ended the same way as before - with Robby catching it mid-air and pulling it from his grip. 

Robby barely seemed to notice the punch Miguel threw at him ( _ I’m really out of practice _ ) and he grabbed Miguel’s shirt while putting his leg behind Miguel’s knee. A trip and a swing and Miguel landed on the carpeted floor with a thud and Robby climbed on top of him, pinning his shoulders to the ground. Miguel turned his face and closed his eyes, waiting for the blows to fall - but instead, he felt Robby’s warm breath against his cheek. 

Robby yelled - screamed - right in his face and Miguel felt a fresh wave of panic wash over him. Desperately, he reached out for something - anything - to grab on to and he felt his fingers close around smooth, varnished wood. He swung his cane up, blindly. He heard Robby curse and the weight was off him. 

Miguel didn’t wait to check on the damage. He got up and ran as fast as his weak body would allow. He flung open the door and ran down the hallway, to the sound of Robby’s mocking laughter behind him and then he rushed down the stairs until he was down a few floors. 

He ended up stopping on a landing to catch his breath. 

Miguel was having trouble breathing, but he knew what he had to do. He ran his hands over himself, front and back, checking for injuries. You often missed things in the rush of adrenaline and in his condition, he couldn’t afford that. 

He pressed and prodded his muscles and bones, looking for signs of damage, but apart from the pain of his heart pounding in his chest and his leg muscles burning, there was none at all anywhere else. Nothing was broken.

Nothing was broken? After Robby Keene had just attacked him? The same guy who’d put a bunch of people stronger than Miguel out of commission with just a few well-placed blows? How did Miguel manage to fight him and come away without so much as a bruise? Was that a miracle?

Or something else?

_ I know when he is holding back,  _ he remembered Sam’s words. Was Robby holding back now too? He tried to remember if he’d felt any pain as he’d landed on the ground but the carpet had cushioned his fall. Miguel hadn’t gone there to fight - so why would Robby go through the whole charade? Pretend that he wanted to fight but still hold back. 

_ Because he’s a bully,  _ Miguel’s mind supplied.  _ He wants to intimidate more than he wants to hurt.  _

Instinctively, Miguel knew that that answer was wrong. There was something else going on here - something more. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. And he knew all his questions would be answered if he managed to do that. 

Taking a deep breath, Miguel turned around and started walking up the stairs again. 

The door was still wide open like he’d left it and Miguel walked right back into Robby’s apartment. The other boy was in the chair with an ice pack to his head and he looked up in surprise when Miguel came in. 

“You must be dumber than a bag of dicks.” Robby snarled, getting up. 

“I must be.” Miguel said numbly. Robby wanted to hurt him, right? He’d made that perfectly obvious. So why was Miguel the one without a bruise while Robby was bleeding from his forehead?

He resisted the urge to put up his arms when Robby pushed him. And the second time he did, it was easier. 

“Fight back, you pussy.” Robby sneered. “It’s no fun if you don’t fight back.”

“Why?” Miguel wondered. “We both know I can’t beat you. So what difference does it make?”

Robby scowled and then the mask was back. 

“Whatever.” He shrugged. “Just say what you came here to say and get out.”

_ Where to start?  _ There was so much going through his head, but he latched on to one. 

“Why did Kreese kick you out of Cobra Kai?” Miguel began.

“Is that what he told you? Figures.” Robby scoffed. “He didn’t kick me out - I quit.”

Well, that explained the treason talk and Kreese’s anger.

“Why?” Miguel followed up. “What did he do to you? He took you in. He gave you a place to stay. He trained you. He helped you win the championship. Why would you quit?”

_ Why am I arguing for Kreese?  _ Miguel wondered. 

“I got what I wanted from the old bastard.” Robby smirked. “So I was done with him.”

“What did you get?” Miguel asked, looking around. And then the words spilled out of his mouth out of his control. “What was it that you wanted so badly that you’d hurt people like that? This apartment? You could’ve had a better place had you just come back to Sensei. A trophy? That doesn’t mean anything. Don’t you see that? You didn’t win anything.”

Robby didn’t reply, but his smirk widened as if he knew something Miguel didn’t. 

“What else could you possibly have wanted?” Miguel rushed ahead, heedless. “Revenge? On who? Sensei? Newsflash, dude, he’s better now than he has been in months. He has his students back. He has his dojo back. He has made his peace with Mr. LaRusso. So you didn’t get your revenge either. The only thing you managed to accomplish was to destroy Cobra Kai.  _ You  _ showed everyone what kind of monster Kreese is - and what he turns you into.  _ You  _ destroyed your sensei.  _ You  _ destroyed Cobra...”

Miguel stopped. And then he went cold all over as everything clicked into place. Faster than he could process it, his mind started connecting the dots. 

“That’s what you wanted all along, wasn’t it?” He asked, horrified. “To stop Kreese. Stop Cobra Kai?”

Robby’s smirk disappeared and Miguel knew he had him. 

“You don’t know what you are talking about.” Robby snarled, but Miguel didn’t even hear him. 

His mind was making connections faster than he could realize it. And he found words spilling out of him despite him having the answers already. 

“No… No, that’s insane.” Miguel looked around wildly. “If you wanted to do that, you could’ve just talked to...”

But that hadn’t worked. Miguel had begged and pleaded with his friends to quit Cobra Kai, to abandon Kreese and yet not one of them had listened. 

“You didn’t have to do… to be so...”

Didn’t he? Tory had said herself that without Robby’s ruthlessness, she’d never have realized how she went wrong. And the same was true for others. 

“That’s insane. You are insane.” He looked back at Robby. “Why didn’t you come back to Sensei afterwards? He wanted you out of Cobra Kai and you are out - so why didn’t you go to him?”

“Why would I?” Robby replied, flatly. 

Miguel’s head was swimming. Was this Robby’s plan all along? To drive everyone away from Kreese? He’d done that but… he’d made enemies of them all in the process. Everyone hated him now and they’d all be happy to know that he was out of their lives for ever. 

And he didn’t need to do it that way. He could’ve just come back any time he wanted. He could’ve apologized and everyone would’ve forgiven him. He could’ve had them all on his side, so…

So why would he sacrifice that? Just to help the other Cobras - the people he’d hated to begin with? Robby was left with no one and nothing and he’d given it all up for… them?

“What’s wrong with you?” Miguel said, reeling. “Why would you act like the bad guy if you care this much?”

Robby’s face twisted in rage. 

“Get out!” He snarled. “Get the fuck out of my house!”

Miguel was still in too much shock to respond. He could barely react as Robby grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back. With the other, he grabbed his collar and threw him out the door. 

“You show your face here again and I’ll put you back in a wheelchair.” Robby growled before slamming the door in his face. 

Miguel rotated his shoulder, trying to get a feel for the leftover pain after Robby had twisted it. There was barely any to begin with and within two seconds, it was all gone. 

Somehow, he was having a hard time believing Robby’s last words. 


	10. Robby I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Other Side Now.
> 
> BTW, I kinda imagined Peyton Meyer playing the new character introduced here. You can look him up.

“Hey! You are the karate kid, right?”

Robby sighed and focused on unpacking his blanket and pillow. He’d hoped to fly under the radar here, but apparently, his reputation preceded him. 

“Man - that was some fight. It’s gone viral.” The guy continued blithely. “I saw it a couple of weeks ago. By the way, we get internet access once a week here, but you gotta book your slot in advance. But I’m sure the karate kid can convince someone to give him theirs.”

“I don’t like that name, alright.” Robby said, quietly. “It’s just something the news started calling me and it stuck.”

“Dude, c’mon. It’s badass.” His new roommate told him. “Just like that fight was.”

“It wasn’t… badass.” Robby insisted. “I hurt someone. Bad. There is nothing good about that. And I don’t want to focus on that. I just want to get through this without any trouble.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” The guy shrugged. “What? The dude says shit about your girlfriend and it’s supposed to be okay just because he says sorry?”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it.” 

The guy shrugged and lied back on his bed. Juvenile correctional centers were not the same as a regular prison - they were more like hostels. Ratty, dilapidated, old hostels. They had two narrow beds in each room, communal showers and a bunch of other facilities Robby would have to tour later. 

“So, am I gonna see you in the ring?” He asked after a while.

Robby turned to him, confused. 

“We got a gym here. A lot of guys are in here for fighting and you can get your aggression out in there.” He explained. “They are not as good as you, though. You can probably wipe the floor with most of them.”

“No.” Robby said immediately. “I’m done fighting.”

“But… you are so good at it.” He looked confused. 

“I’m not gonna hurt anyone else, okay? So drop it.”

The guy shrugged. “Probably for the best. You are pretty good looking.” He got up and stood beside Robby, peering at him. “Not many of those around here. Most of the uggos out there would love to mess up that face.”

_ You are one to talk,  _ Robby thought, looking back at him. Cropped blonde hair, blue eyes, square jaw, tall and muscular - the guy had the classic all-American looks of a model. 

“I like your hair too.” He added, reaching up to stroke it. “But you should probably cut it. Makes you look like a girl and trust me, you do not want to look like a girl in here.”

_ So that’s what this is about. _

“Okay, let’s do it.” Robby said, turning to him. 

“What?” He took a step back. 

“Look, I’m not here to make any waves. I’m not here to challenge anyone or dethrone anyone or take anyone’s place.” Robby explained. “But you are not gonna buy that, are you? No - new guy comes in, you gotta put him in his place. Show him the pecking order. How things work around here. Okay then - so do it. Show me my place and then leave me alone.”

He looked at Robby bemused. 

“What crawled up your ass?” He asked. “Dude, we are gonna be roommates for the next few months. Figured we start off on the right foot. Sorry if I offended you or anything.”

Robby looked at him skeptically. Did he misjudge him after all?

“Look - there are gonna be plenty of people gunning for you in here.” He shrugged. “It maybe good to have a friend or two.”

He wasn’t wrong. Robby didn’t need to make any more enemies anyway. 

“Sorry.” He said, abashed. 

“It’s cool.” He smiled the thousand megawatt smile. “So, if you don’t want me to call you the karate kid - you got a real name?”

“Robby Keene.”

“Nice to meet you, Robby Keene.” He said, extending a hand. “I’m Pete Meyers.”

* * *

Pete was right. A lot of guys there did have it out for Robby after all. 

Juvie wasn’t that different from high-school - except a lot more violent and a lot more gangs. They all either saw him as a threat to be dealt with or a potential recruit - and they seemed unable to accept that he wanted to be neither. But Robby was going to be there for only three months and he was sure he could tough it out. 

The first attack came the very next day in the showers. They jumped him and one guy held Robby from behind while the others took turns punching him in the stomach. They were aggressive, but sloppy. So sloppy. Robby focused his mind on the thousand different ways he could’ve taken them down as they beat on him. 

They left him coughing and retching on the floor, half unconscious from the pain, but when he came to, Robby felt good about taking his punishment like that. He’d deserved it after all. 

“No, you didn’t deserve it.” Pete told him later over lunch. “Dude - what’s wrong with you? You have to fight back. You can’t punish yourself for an accident.”

Robby shook his head stubbornly. “It wasn’t an accident. I lost control.”

“Well, atleast your guy didn’t die.” Pete snapped. 

Robby looked up in surprise. He hadn’t asked Pete what he was in for, but he’d never imagined…

“It wasn’t like that.” He said, frowning. “It was a match and I punched him too hard. Harder than I’d meant to. The guy got a concussion and he… just didn’t wake up the next morning. But it was a match, right? We were supposed to be hitting each-other. How’s it my fault that his coach didn’t follow the concussion protocol.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.” Robby said sympathetically. “But… that really sounds like an accident.”

“It was.” Pete insisted. “But the judge didn’t see it that way and now I’m stuck here until I’m 18. And then I go to the big-boy house. Atleast you get to get out in just 3 months.”

“I deserved more.” Robby replied, looking at his food. 

“There you go again.” Pete said, in disgust. “You enjoy being a martyr, is that it?”

He stormed off in anger without waiting for the answer. 

Robby didn’t have the chance to ask the follow-up question until later that night after they were both in bed. 

“You said it happened during a match.” He asked. “Are you into martial arts too?”

“Mixed martial arts. MMA” Pete replied. “Got into it as a kid and I was good at it too. What about you - what kind of karate do you practice?” 

“Miyagi-Do. Traditional Okinawan.” Robby replied. 

“Nice.” Pete said. “I’d love to learn a bit of that. We’ve got some karate thrown in there, but what I learned was mostly TKD, Krav-Maga and Muay-Thai. I’d love to show you some moves. And maybe I can learn a couple of things too.”

Robby’s heart dropped. He still enjoyed talking about it, but…

“I can’t.” He said. “Not after...”

“Dude, c’mon.” Pete whined. “I’m not talking about a death-match here. Just friendly sparring.”

“That’s how it starts.” Robby replied. “I can’t… I don’t trust myself, okay?”

* * *

Pete didn’t give up, though. And neither did the other guys. The next couple of them went easy on him - if leaving him conscious with no bones broken could be called that. Robby wondered if he was making a mistake by not even trying to defend himself. 

But then his Johnny told him the same thing and he felt validated. 

“That’s bullshit.” Pete said to him. “Your dad sounds like an asshole.”

“He is.” Robby shrugged. “But he’s not wrong.”

“Don’t listen to him, alright?” Pete argued. “He didn’t even come to visit you until now. You know what my dad is doing out there? He’s trying to bribe judges to listen to my appeal.”

“Look, I don’t expect you to understand, alright?” Robby said. “But it’s not his fault. I did something wrong and he is right to be mad.”

“He should still stand by you.” Pete said indignantly. 

“Even if I’m in the wrong?” Robby scoffed. 

“Especially if you are in the wrong.” Pete replied. “Anyone can stand by you if you are right. But standing by you when you are in the wrong - that’s what you are supposed to for someone you love...”

Pete trailed off, looking guilty for a moment as Robby looked at him in surprise.

“Sorry - I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, you are right.” Robby said, thinking about it. “He… doesn’t care about me.”

He’d known that all along, hadn’t he? He’d said that himself a thousand times over. Johnny had proven it over and over how little he actually cared about his son. Robby should be used to it by now. 

So why did it sting like that every time? Why did it hurt so much? Why did it make him so angry?

“He may not care, but it doesn’t mean he is wrong.” Robby said firmly. 


	11. Robby II

Something was off that day. Things were quieter somehow. And maybe Robby would’ve picked up on that if he hadn’t been too busy trying to shut Pete out. 

“You are the most frustrating guy I’ve ever met, you know that?” Pete said, angrily. “When are you gonna stop being a pussy and start fighting back?”

“If you are that concerned about me, why don’t _you_ tell those guys to back off?” Robby asked. 

Three weeks since his imprisonment and Robby had started picking up on things around the place. 

Things like Pete being a really good fighter. Robby never actually saw him in action. There was always someone or the other going at it in the ring while Robby worked out, but Pete was never one of them. But he’d often seen him sneak out in the middle of the night and when he came back, he often had bruises, but only on his knuckles. 

He also knew that Pete had some pull around the place. A few days ago, a new kid had come in. Thirteen, small for his age and a victim of the system. He’d made an obvious target for the resident tough guys, but Pete had taken a liking to the kid. He’d told them all to back off - and they had. 

So if he really cared that much about Robby…

“When did I say I was concerned about you?” Pete sneered. “I want you to start fighting back because _I_ want to fight you.”

Robby was taken aback at the hungry look on his face. He’d never seen the guy look like that. 

“Why?” He asked. 

“I’ve already beaten all the other losers in here.” Pete explained. “And I think you can give me a real fight.”

“You don’t want that.” Robby shook his head. “Trust me.”

“Don’t give me your “I don’t wanna hurt anyone” bullshit.” He smirked. “You wouldn’t be this good at it if you didn’t like hurting people. And you should like it. It’s raw and primal. Like really good sex. It makes you feel alive.”

“It’s not happening, alright?” Robby snapped, getting up. 

What was he thinking? He already knew he couldn’t trust anyone in here. But Pete had made him lower his guard with his charm and confidence and easy friendliness. Being a conman himself, Robby really should've seen through that.  


“You know what I think?” Pete said loudly. “I think you are afraid of losing. It’s easier to pretend that you could’ve won if you don’t fight back, right? But if you fight and lose... well, that's more embarrassing, isn't it?”

Robby stopped and turned around. 

“You know that’s not it.” He replied. “But believe that if it makes you feel better.”

“Maybe we should put it to a test.” Pete said, getting up himself. 

Something was going on, Robby realized with trepidation. Others were getting up too, gathering around, forming a circle around the two of them. And there were no guards around. There were always supposed to be guards around.

“You don’t care about being embarrassed right?” Pete spread his hands. “Let’s see about that.”

_ He thinks humiliating me is going to work? He knows that the last two guys stripped me naked and pissed on me, right? If that didn’t get me to fight back… _

There were a lot more people around though. A lot more eyes witnessing his humiliation. But that didn’t matter. Let him do his worst. 

“Kid - c’mon up here.” Pete called out.

Kid - Ray - the new guy Pete had taken under his wing stepped forward. He looked both nervous and excited at being called upon by his hero. Pete stepped behind him and turned him to face Robby with his hands on the boy’s shoulder. 

“Think you can take this guy?” Pete asked Ray, leaning forward and talking into his ear.

The boy regarded Robby anxiously. He was right to be nervous - Robby was almost twice his size. Even if hehadn’t known karate, the kid would've have had no chance. 

“Don’t worry - Robby won’t fight back. Will you Robby?” Pete smirked. “You just have to pound him until he’s lights-out.”

That was his plan? To have a kid half Robby’s size beat him up? That was… weak. Sure it’d be humiliating, but Robby had faced worse. Much worse. 

Ray nodded eagerly, grinning at the prospect earning some toughness cred and Robby resigned himself. If this is what it took…

“Good.” Pete whispered - and then slammed his fist into Ray’s side.

Robby’s eyes widened and Ray screamed. Pete followed it up with a knee to his chest and then a backhand that sent the stunned kid sprawling. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Robby shouted.

“What does it look like?” Pete smirked back, dragging the whimpering boy up by his hair and punching him in the stomach. 

Robby looked around wildly. Why wasn’t anyone doing anything? How could they all just stand there, hooting and laughing, watching a kid get beat up? Where were all the guards? Couldn’t they hear the screams?

Pete grabbed the kid by his neck and punched him right across the face. And Robby couldn’t take it anymore. He rushed forward, knocking Pete back with a strike across his face that sent him reeling back. Immediately, Robby grabbed the kid by his collar and pulled him back behind him. 

“Knew there was a button in there somewhere.” Pete smirked, wiping off the blood flowing from his cut lip. “So you like to play the hero, huh? That’s how you justify fighting?”

Robby didn’t say anything. But he stood over Ray with his guard up. The kid was on the ground, curled up in pain and crying. 

“Whatever floats your boat, man.” Pete was grinning now. “I’m fine playing the villain if you want to play the hero. So I’ll make that kid’s life miserable and if you want to protect him, you’re gonna have to fight me.”

No, he couldn’t start this shit again. He needed to figure a way out of this. 

“Fine.” Robby said. “How about we take this to the ring and leave the kid alone, huh?”

Pete shook his head. “We’re doing this here.”

It didn’t look like he had many options here. 

“Just promise me one thing.” Robby pleaded. “No matter who wins, you’ll leave Ray alone.”

“How stupid do you think I am?” Pete laughed out loud at that. “This isn’t about winning, dumbass - it’s about fighting. And you don’t get to set the conditions. Not after making me wait so long.”

Pete was moving sideways, circling him and Robby turned with him, keeping himself between him and the boy. Pete grinned again as he saw him doing that. He cracked his neck and took his under-shirt off while tightly wrapping the sleeves of his jumpsuit around his waist. 

He was going to be a tough one - Robby saw that right away. He’d seen him in the showers plenty of times before and he’d known the guy was ripped - but he’d never seen him flexed and tense like that. Every muscle in his arms and torso stood out and Robby could tell that there was plenty of power behind then. 

“Here’s how it’s gonna go, Robby.” Pete said as he bounced on the balls of his feet. “First, I’m gonna kick your ass. I’m gonna beat you bloody until you are passed out. Then I’m gonna step over your limp body, grab that little shit and _break his fucking arm_.”

Robby’s eyes widened in horror. He meant it. He could see that. He thought he’d seen insanity in his opponent’s eyes before - in Miguel’s during the tournament or Hawk’s during the mall fight or Tory’s at school - but nothing like this. This guy was worse than anything he’d ever faced. 

“Run!” He hissed at Ray. But the boy was too crippled with pain to move. And others had already created a solid wall of flesh around them. 

“Nowhere to run, Karate Kid!” Pete smirked. “You wanna protect him? You’ll have to beat me.”

No choice left. Not only would he have to fight, but he’d have to fight for real. 

Pete advanced, feinting to the side first and swinging the opposite leg for a kick to the knee. Robby brought his own leg up at the last moment to block and responded with a jab punch. Pete bent sideways, dodging it and Robby bent his arm and swung, nailing him on the side of his head with his elbow. At the same time, he felt Pete’s fist dig into his unguarded kidney. 

They both grunted in pain and broke off simultaneously. The onlookers whooped at the exchange, but Robby ignored them, choosing to focus on his opponent instead. They circled each-other, each one surreptitiously rubbing the injured spot - one calm and focused and the other grinning maniacally. 

“Knew you’d be worth the wait.” Pete said, taking his stance again. 

He rushed in again, going for a tackle this time. Robby raised his arms as he felt Pete’s wrap around his waist and slammed his elbow on his back and his skull - but the momentum carried him over. He felt himself get lifted off his feet and pain shot through him as he slammed against the floor. Pete reared back, fists raised to rain blows upon him and Robby brought his arms up to guard himself. They fell, one after the other and he couldn’t protect against them all. He wrapped his legs around Pete’s waist instead and twisted his hips violently, throwing the guy off him. 

Robby got to his feet first, while Pete was still on his hands and knees with his back turned and he noticed that the distance and position were perfectly aligned. His leg swung up in a roundhouse headed straight to his opponent’s head- but Pete caught his foot mid-air, stopping it in place. He slid down, his own foot hitting Robby in the back of his knee. Robby got his leg swept out from under him and fell back as he felt the other guy gripping his ankle and twisting. 

_ I’m in big trouble if he clinches in that hold.  _

He somehow managed to roll with the twist and kick out with his free leg, hitting Pete in the face and making him let go. He scrambled back immediately, getting back up on his feet as Pete did the same, wiping a bloody nose this time. 

“You are good Keene.” Pete complimented him. “Never seen anyone counter that move that fast.”

_ Maybe. But you are better,  _ Robby thought, gingerly putting weight on his foot.  _ That kick was perfectly timed and you managed to stop it anyway.  _

He couldn’t let Pete take the lead again. That guy’s close-quarters game was dangerous and Robby didn’t know how to properly respond to that. Miyagi-Do was more defense focused, but Robby needed to throw Pete off his game now and for that, he’d need to go aggressive. 

He rushed in swinging - but instead of blocking or dodging or backing away as Robby had come to expect of his opponents - Pete stepped into it. He turned his body sideways, letting Robby’s punch land on his shoulder with his own movement taking the edge off. Pete got uncomfortably close and lifted his knee, slamming it into Robby’s abs. The air went out of him in a whoosh as he saw stars before his eyes. Large hands closed in around his neck, pulling it down and Pete kneed him again, in the ribs this time. Then he clapped his hands on his ears. 

Robby was stunned. All he could hear was ringing and all he felt was pain. His breath felt like it was stuck in his chest and he stumbled backwards, watching his opponent prepare for his next move with bleary eyes. Pete crouched predatorily and rushed forward again, going for a tackle. Robby managed to regain himself just in time and raised his arms for the chop as Pete wrapped his around his waist again. 

But Pete slid sideways before he could bring them down. A moment later, he was behind Robby, locking in his wrists and heaving him up. Robby felt himself getting lifted off his feet and flying backwards. The suplex ended with him slamming the back of his neck against the edge of the table. Pain flared throughout his body for a moment and then everything went numb. 

_ Is this how Miguel felt?  _ Robby wondered.  _ Is this my real punishment? Breaking my back too? Pretty fitting, right? _

He wasn’t unconscious though. Just unable to move. And he wasn’t paralyzed either. He could feel Pete turn him around and climb on top of him. He could feel his calloused hands cupping his chin with interlocked fingers. And he definitely felt it when Pete yanked him back in a Camel Clutch. 

Robby couldn’t help but scream as his back was forced unnaturally backwards. 

“You shouldn’t have tried to go aggressive.” Pete whispered in his ear, loosening the hold. “Your defense game is better, but you lose your edge when you go on attack.”

And then he yanked him back again. 

Desperately, Robby tried to swing his arm back, but Pete was too out of reach. So he aimed lower and his elbow connected to Pete’s knee. He repeated the move, connecting with a nerve this time, making his tormentor hiss in pain and release the hold - and despite his body screaming against it, Robby took the chance to scramble away. 

_ I won’t win,  _ Robby realized, despairing.  _ I need to give up. Beg for mercy. I’ll only get more hurt if I keep fighting.  _

He looked back and saw Ray hiding under the table, scared and crying.  _ I can’t give up.  _

“Isn’t this enough?” Robby asked. “You’ve already proven that you are better.”

“I told you already.” Pete smirked. “This is about the fight, not the win.”

_ But I need to win. And I can’t - not head on anyway.  _

“You said you wanted to learn karate, right?” Robby reminded him. “How about I show you some moves?”

Pete grinned. He clearly knew what Robby was trying to do and he didn’t care. And Robby didn’t care that he didn’t care. This was the only chance he had - give the guy a reason to stay on the defensive and let Robby attack him. 

He also had to use his environment to his advantage. He was at a disadvantage on even ground, but Mr. LaRusso had taught him that the fight didn’t always happen there. The tables and chairs - and whatever else was on them - Robby could use them all to his advantage. Pete had years of experience on him, but he’d learned to fight for the mat, but Mr. LaRusso had prepared him for a real one. Hopefully that would be enough to tip the balance.

Robby grabbed a tray from the table beside him and sent it flying to his face. Pete knocked it aside almost casually, but the distraction proved enough. Robby launched himself off the nearest chair, aiming a kick at the guy’s face. 

He blocked it and grabbed Robby’s leg again - but he’d expected that. Pivoting his whole body mid-air while supporting himself on the nearest table with his hands, Robby swung his other leg. His heel caught Pete on the side of his head with a thud that made even others wince in sympathy. He let go of Robby’s foot and stumbled back, rocked. 

Robby immediately pulled his legs back - and then like a coiled spring, launched himself back at him, aiming both his feet towards Pete’s unguarded chest in a modified version of the double-legged kick. But Pete managed to put his guard up and the last moment. He still reeled back from the force of the blow, but it hadn’t been enough to even the odds. 

“Badass.” Pete said, shaking his hands free of pain. “Show me more.”

Robby knew he was a good fighter. He was a fast learner and within months he'd gone from a complete novice to a finalist in the tournament. And within his age-group, Sam and Miguel were the only two fighters he'd have considered a challenge. He wasn't just fast and strong, he was focused, flexible and a smart fighter as well.

But this guy was better. Way better than Robby and way better than anyone he'd fought before.

He let Robby make the first move, let him attack, before turning it against him. He barely seemed feel the hits Robby landed on him, but the once he returned were starting wear Robby out. Despite that, Robby felt like Pete was still holding back. Like he was toying with him or trying to make this last as long as possible. Robby attacked him, again and again, getting a few hits in, getting hit in return and barely getting away before he got caught by a finishing move. It was like the guy had a counter for anything that Robby could pull off whereas his fighting style was completely foreign to Robby.

"My turn?" Pete grinned.

_ Shit.  _

Robby charged ahead anyway, thrusting his fist and Pete dodged, grabbing his arm with both hands. He absorbed the fists Robby dug into his sides with pain grunts before jumping and wrapping his legs around Robby’s torso. A twist of the hips and Robby was off-balance, falling to the floor again. He felt the legs move upwards and wrap around his neck while Pete twisted his arm painfully. Robby screamed and pounded at his legs but it was no use. 

_ He’s gonna rip my arm right out of the socket,  _ Robby thought. The pain was nothing like he’d felt before and every fiber of his being was telling him to submit and beg for mercy. He fervently tapped Pete’s thigh, indicating his surrender.

“You sure?” Pete asked, loosening the hold for a moment. “Tap out and we can move on to the kid.” And then he started twisting again. 

Somehow through the haze of unbearable agony, Robby regained himself. Surrender was not an option. Instead, he made a fist and slammed it into the side of Pete’s knee, knuckles first. Pete hissed and twisted his arm harder. 

It was a contest of wills now - of stubbornness. And that was something Robby was never lacking in. He kept hitting the same spot over and over again as Pete twisted harder until it felt like he’d break the whole thing off. But Robby prevailed. With a grunt of pain, Pete unlocked his legs and reached down to rub his knee - and Robby used the chance to slid out of his grasp.

He rolled away, stumbling to his feet and put up his arms in defence again - and almost screamed in agony as he did. Pete had dislocated his shoulder - pulled it out of the joint with that move - and through the excruciating pain of it all, Robby hadn’t even noticed. His dominant arm was hanging useless by his side now. 

“You did good, bud.” Pete said, getting up himself. “I haven’t had this much fun in a long, long time. But you have no chance now.”

_ A chance? I never had one from the beginning.  _

He fought back anyway. He slammed his bad shoulder into Pete as the guy rushed him and punched him in his bare stomach with his good hand. The abs rippled as Pete absorbed the blow and responded by grabbing his wrist, leveraging it up and across his neck. With his free hand, Pete punched Robby in the face, rocking him. And then he punched him again. And again. And again. 

Robby lost count of how many blows he took, but his whole head felt like it was filled with lava. He knew his whole face would be unrecognizably black and blue and swollen by the next day. He could hear nothing but the ringing in his ears and with his eyes watering, he could barely see anything either. And his whole body felt like an open wound.

He felt the hand holding him up release him and he crumpled down on the floor. Then Pete grabbed him by his hair and dragged him to his feet again. Robby cried out as his entire weight was held up by his hair and weakly gripped Pete’s wrist, trying to lessen the stretch in his scalp.

An arm snaked around his neck pulling him flush against the bigger boy. Pete secured the sleeper hold by locking in his wrist with his hand and started squeezing. Robby could feel Pete’s whole body pressed against this back and even through the haze of pain, he knew what the hardness pressing into his backside was. 

“Feel that?” Pete whispered. “This is what it feels like to be alive.”

Robby weakly pounded at the arms, but it was of no use anymore. His vision got darker and darker until everything went dead still. 

* * *

His whole world was pain. From the ends of his hair to the tips of his toenails, he felt like one long, raw, exposed nerve. The reality formed slowly around him as Robby regained consciousness. He was back in the infirmary again - on the bed this time. It was already night-time and everything was dead quiet, except for a sound coming from his left. 

It took him a minute to identify what it was - sniffling and sobbing. Someone was crying. With some effort, he turned his head to the side. 

Ray was lying down on the bed next to him with his arm in a cast.

_ The bastard actually did it. I gave him what he wanted and he broke the kid’s arm anyway. _

“Why didn’t you just agree to fight him before?” Ray said accusingly with teary when he saw Robby looking at him. “None of this would’ve happened if you’d just given him what he wanted.”

_ I didn’t want to hurt anyone,  _ Robby tried to say. But his throat was too parched to get the words out. So he looked away and stared at the ceiling. 

The world stayed on pause for the next half hour or so, the silence in the room broken only by the sniffles from the 13-year old. An attendant walked in and checked on him at some point and handed him a cup of water. Robby spilled most of it on himself, but managed to swallow some to soothe his dry throat. 

And then the Warden walked in. 

Robby had seen the guy just once before - when he’d arrived with a bunch of others. They’d all been given the speech - how this wasn’t a prison, how the point of the place was rehabilitation, how they were supposed to spend their sentence here reflecting on the mistakes that had landed them there and how he expected them all to leave as better guys than they had arrived. The guy looked like a typical high-school principal - middle-aged, stooped, stern and completely unremarkable.

And he looked exactly like one as he regarded the boys on the beds with a disappointed shake of his head. 

“I don’t expect this kind of behavior in my halls.” He said, sternly. “I know teenagers carry a lot of aggression, but there are better ways to work it out.”

_ Tell that to the asshole who did this. _

Warden Kelley walked up to Ray’s bed and sat down beside him, gently putting his hand on his cast.

“Can you tell me what happened, Ray?” He asked, kindly.

_ Don’t ask him that,  _ Robby thought, his heart speeding up.  _ Prison or not, snitches still get stitches.  _ Ray looked at him, nervously and Robby gave him a slight shake. 

“It’s alright.” Kelley said reassuringly. “No one’s going to hurt you. I promise, I’ll protect you.”

Ray nodded anxiously and took a deep breath. 

“Robby attacked me, Sir. For no reason at all.” Ray told him. “He punched me and kicked me. He beat me up. And then he broke my arm. Robby did this to me.”

Robby blinked and stared, his mind still trying to catch up to what he’d just heard. Wondering if his hearing was still okay. 

“And who did that to Robby?” The Warden prompted.

“Pete.” Ray replied. “But he was only trying to protect me. He did that before when some other guys were hassling me too. He told Robby to lay off but when he wouldn’t, Pete lost his temper.”

Robby felt cold all over. He could feel the sting of tears behind his eyes and he blinked to keep them at bay. 

“Tsk. Tsk.” Kelley tutted, shaking his head in disappointment and turning towards Robby. “Mr. Keene, I expected better from you. You have had a troubled history, but nothing like this before.”

“I… didn’t...” Robby croaked out.

“Don’t try to speak. It won’t make a difference anyway.” The Warden said. “I’ve talked to the other eye-witnesses and they all told me the same thing.”

Robby stared at him in despair.  _ All of them?  _ **_All_ ** _ of them? Not one told you the truth? _

“I’m sorry you got hurt.” Kelley said, not sounding sorry at all. “But that doesn’t change what you did. We’ll be adding a month to your sentence for this. And you’ll be spending a week in solitary confinement once you get out of here. It should give you some time to reflect on your actions.”

Robby didn’t say anything - he just stared at Ray as the Warden walked out. 

_ I tried to help you,  _ he said with his eyes.  _ I tried to protect you. I got beat up for you. _

“It’s all your fault.” Ray said, sullenly as he looked away. “You did this, not me. None of this would’ve happened if you’d just given him what he wanted from the start. That makes it your fault, not mine.”

Robby went back to staring at the ceiling, but he couldn’t help his tears from escaping. 


	12. Robby III

_ Why is this happening? _

Robby sat on his cot in the dark room, leaning back against the wall and banging his head against it. 

_ Why is this happening? _

He slammed his head back again. 

_ Why is this happening? Why is this happening? Why is this happening? _

And again and again and again. He kept doing it until he felt something slick and wet trickle down the back of his neck. 

_ This is karma. This is what you deserve for what you did. You already know you got lucky with the sentencing. This is the universe course-correcting and fixing that mistake. _

Robby slammed his head back again.

_ I made a mistake. Do I really deserve… this? _

The overhead bulb flickered and Robby feared for a moment that he’d lose his only source of light in the room to be left in complete darkness. The light was on all the time - the fluorescent glare hurting his eyes every time he looked up - and it made it impossible to tell the difference between night and day. 

Robby didn’t know how much time had passed since he’d been locked up here. He’d kept track for the first three days by counting the meals - even violent delinquents were entitled to three squares a day - but his mind had started to muddle after that. And now, it might’ve been a week or it might’ve been a year - Robby had no way of knowing. 

Some time ago - and Robby wasn’t sure long - he’d gotten this horrible feeling that they’d just left him in there for good. That they’d just locked him in and thrown away the key - and everyone he knew had simply forgotten that he’d ever existed. 

He’d had a panic attack then. His breathing had gone out of control and he’d started banging on the door, begging to be let out of there. And when no one had replied, he’d tried breaking down the steel door. He’d punched it again and again until his knuckles were bleeding and then he’d punched some more. He might’ve broken his hands trying to get out, if not for his breathing getting too difficult and the darkness closing in. When he’d come to, he’d wondered if it’d all been a dream - but his bloody fingers said otherwise. 

_ I DON’T deserve this,  _ he thought.  _ Not this. And I’ll make them pay. All of them. I’ll kill them all. I’ll steal a knife from the kitchen and slit their throats while they sleep - Pete, the Warden, every single inmate and guard around. And I’ll save that little shit Ray for the last.  _

Robby shook his head, trying to clear it of those thoughts. He couldn’t do that again. He couldn’t go down that road of anger and rage and hatred. He’d made that mistake before and this is where it’d lead. He needed to find a way to deal with it…

But how could he when it kept welling up inside him like that?

“You know how.” Mr. LaRusso said. “I taught you that. Remember?”

Robby blinked, staring at his former teacher standing over him with his arms folded. The cell wasn’t big enough to fit two people, but he was in there anyway. 

“Great!” He said out loud. “I’m finally going crazy.”

“Well, you have been through a lot.” Mr. LaRusso shrugged. “Makes sense you’d lose your mind a little.”

Robby squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will him to disappear, but he was still there when he opened them, smiling kindly at him. 

“It’s okay, Robby.” He said, sitting down on the cot. “I might not be real, but I’m here to help you.”

“Awesome.” Robby scoffed. “You can start by magicking yourself to the other side and opening this door for me.”

“No, not with that.” Mr. LaRusso said, laughing and shaking his head. “I’m trying to help you with yourself. To help you find the answers.”

“You can’t help me with that either.” Robby retorted. “You are just a figment of my imagination. You don’t know anything that I don’t know.” He shook his head. “And why am I arguing with myself? I’ve really lost it, haven’t I?”

“You know, for someone who’s supposed to be going crazy, you are being remarkably rational about this whole thing.” Mr. LaRusso told him. “But… you also know that’s not how it works. You have the answers in you - I’m just here to help you get to them.”

Robby leaned back with his eyes closed again. This wasn’t going to change anything. This hallucination was just his mind buckling under pressure. 

_ What the hell. It might pass some time.  _

“Go on then.” 

He felt the other man smile. “I taught you how to deal with your anger, remember?”

“Yeah.” Robby nodded. “Find balance. Focus on the good.”

“No, not that.” Daniel shook his head. “That was just a band-aid meant to help you in the moment. It doesn’t solve the cause of the problem. What else did I teach you about anger? About suffering?”

Robby blinked, trying to remember. There had been something…

“Anger comes when things are not what you want them to be.” He spoke from memory. “It is what you feel when reality does not match your expectations. There are two ways to deal with it - you can either change reality into what you want it to be or… if that’s not possible or if it’s something that you shouldn’t do, then you have to change what you expect of it.”

“Accept reality as it is and you’ll find your anger fade away.” Daniel finished.

“I tried that already.” Robby insisted. “I didn’t fight the charges. I tried not fighting in here. I tried to give up karate, but...”

“That’s not what it means, Robby.” Daniel sighed. “We never really got to finish your lessons, did we? We never got to find out what you are really angry about. Where it comes from. What is the reality that you are not accepting? Who are you really angry at?”

Robby stared at him, trying to understand. 

“Are you angry with me?” Mr. LaRusso asked. “Angry that I… abandoned you? That I never came to see you in here?”

“No...” Robby said, hesitant at first. And then more certainly. “No - I never expected you to come. I… betrayed your trust with Sam. I betrayed everything you ever taught me. I… dishonored Mr. Miyagi’s legacy and his memory. I don’t… expect you to forgive me for that.”

Robby curiously felt lighter for a moment. Maybe this was helping after all. 

“Is it me then?” It was a girl’s voice. “Are you angry with me?”

Sam was there now with him, kneeling in front of him with her hand on his knee. 

“Maybe...” Robby said thoughtfully. 

“Because I cheated on you?” She asked. “Because I kissed Miguel?”

“I don’t know...” Robby shook his head. “I did… lie to you about the medal.”

“But I didn’t know that.” Sam replied. “That wasn’t why I kissed him.”

Robby nodded. “You kissed him because you love him more than me.”

Sam sighed, sadly. “That’s not true, Robby. And you know it.”

He did. “You kissed him because you love him. And you don’t love me.”

It felt good to admit it out loud. To not lie to himself anymore that he ever stood a chance. Was this the thing he’d failed to accept?

“I wasn’t fair to you, was I?” She asked. “I used you to get over him.”

“You also did other things.” Robby reminded her. “You were a friend to me - a real friend. Unlike any I’d had before. No… I’m not angry with you either.”

There was just one person left and he showed up right on time.

“It has to be me then, right?” Johnny said from the other side.

“Yes!” Robby said, glaring at him. “Yes, I’m angry at you. I hate you. You did this to me. You made me into this...”

His breathing was getting faster again, but Johnny just looked at him sadly. 

“And how did I do that?” He asked. 

“By never being there for me.” Robby replied. “You should’ve been there. But you weren’t - because you never cared. You never loved me!”

“Robby...” Johnny shook his head regretfully. “You’ve known that for years. Why does that still make you angry?”

“Because...” Robby found that he didn’t have an answer to that. He’d never gone there before. He’d simply taken it for granted that Johnny  _ should  _ care. 

“Remember what we are talking about.” Mr. LaRusso said from the other side. “About reality and expectation.”

Robby nodded, finally starting to understand. He expected Johnny to care and the reality was that he didn’t. And if Robby could learn how to accept that, his anger would finally go away. 

But why was it so goddamn hard to accept? If it was something he’d known all along…

“There is something else.” Mr. LaRusso said. “Something deeper that you are not willing to face. What is it? Who are you really mad at?”

“Me. I’m mad at myself, okay?” Robby replied. “I’m mad that I keep screwing up over and over again. I’m mad that I keep hurting people even when I’m trying to do the right thing. I’m mad that I can’t do anything right.” He turned to Johnny. “I’m mad that I couldn’t make you care about me.” To Sam. “That I couldn’t make you love me.” To Daniel. “That I couldn’t be a good enough student.”

“Now we are getting somewhere.” Daniel said, nodding approvingly. “Go on...”

Robby took a deep breath. Reality and Expectation, right?

“I… expect people to care about me. To love me. To forgive me and give me a second chance.” Robby worked through it. “But the reality is that they don’t. And won’t. Even my own parents…”

“And what does that tell you?” Johnny asked. “That everyone in the world has it out for you?”

Robby shook his head. “They can’t all be wrong, can they?”

“No, they can’t.” Daniel agreed. “Which means…?”

“That… I’m wrong.” Robby said. “That I’m not worth loving in the first place.”

It was so simple - so straightforward - that he wondered why it’d taken him so long to figure it out. He was feeling light-headed now, relaxed. As if he’d cracked open the puzzle-box and all of life’s secrets were now laid bare in front of him. 

They said the truth will set you free and he felt like it just had. 

“You need to say it out loud, Robby.” Daniel prompted. “That’s how you can truly accept it.”

Robby nodded, taking a deep breath. 

“I’m wrong. I was born wrong. Rotten from the very start.” He said out loud. “I lie to get what I want. I cheat. I… hurt people. But that’s not all. Even when I’m trying not to hurt people, even when I’m trying to do something good, I still end up ruining it anyway. This isn’t just about hurting Miguel - that’s how it has been all along. And that’s why nobody ever loved me. And... why nobody ever will.”

He looked up at them. Daniel was looking at him proudly. And for once, so was Johnny. Sam was smiling too. 

“I need to accept that. I need to accept who I am.” Robby continued. “I’m the bad guy. The monster. The guy that everyone else hates. And they should. I need to accept that and I need to stop trying to change it. I’m alone because that’s what I deserve and that’s how it should be. I need to stop pretending and just be true to who I am.”

They were all gone now and he was alone in his cell again. But that was okay because they’d helped him figure it out and he felt much better for it. There was no reason for him to fight against it after all. There never had been. 

* * *

Robby sat down from across the warden, waiting for him to say something. The hell-week was finally over and he felt like he’d come out a different person from it. His bruises had faded to pale yellow and everything still throbbed every now and then, but he felt like a new man. Like nothing could hurt him anymore. 

“Do you know why you are here?” The Warden asked, without looking up from his papers.

“Yeah.” Robby replied calmly. “Because I didn’t play your game.”

Kelley looked up, frowning. “My game?”

Robby smiled. The clues had been all there - he just hadn’t bothered putting them all together. Not until the last day of his confinement. 

He’d thought all those guys trying to pick fights with him had been about his reputation. It wasn’t - not completely. And yes, he’d known that Pete had influence over the others - but not to that extent. This was bigger than him. It went deeper. 

His roommate disappearing in the middle of the night for fights. Everyone challenging him to step in the ring - trying harder over time instead of less. The guards being conveniently absent. The security cameras being down. Every single one of them agreeing to tell the same lie… It all added up.

“You have some sort of underground fight club going on in here and you want me to fight in it.” Robby said. “You told the others to convince me by attacking me. You made sure Pete was my roommate. I don’t know what your scam is, exactly, but if I were to guess… you record these fights and sell it online to the sickos who like seeing kids beat each-other up bloody. And you think I’d make a great addition to your little roster.”

The Warden’s face remained impassive, but the vein throbbing in his temple told Robby that he’d hit the mark. 

“You think you are smart for figuring that out?” He asked, calmly and dangerously. 

“I don’t know why you didn’t just ask upfront.” Robby shrugged. “I didn’t want any trouble. That was the only reason I was trying to avoid fights. But if fighting is the way to go...”

Kelley stood up, slowly and deliberately and turned to face the window. 

“It’s not a scam. It’s what you boys need.” He turned back towards Robby. “The boys who come in here - they’re animals. Rabid dogs that need to be broken and trained. That’s what this is about.”

“Aren’t rabid dogs supposed to be put down?” Robby smirked. 

“Don’t tempt me.” Kelley replied. “You are a wild mutt, Robby. A mongrel. One that bites the hand that feeds it. You don’t belong out there - among _people_ \- and that’s why you are in here.”

He took a deep breath and continued. 

“Do you know anything about training dogs, Robby?” Robby shook his head. “Well, I do. You can yell at them or beat them or give them treats - but that isn’t enough. Animals don’t respond to reason. So the best way is to throw them in with the other dogs - ones that have already been housebroken. That’s what Pete does for me here. He helps me break them and make them... compliant.”

“And I’m sure the money is just gravy on top, right?” Robby smirked. 

Kelley scoffed. “You know, I never bought your ‘I don’t wanna fight’ routine from the start.” He told him. “I knew that if I let you be, you’ll end up back here in no time at all. Or somewhere worse. A dog bites once, it’ll bite again. I need to make sure that you are not a danger to the good people out there before I let you out of here.”

“And what better way to do that than getting the shit beat out of me?” Robby said. 

Kelley smirked. “Your first match will be tonight. Against Rodriguez. Pete will bring you in.” He waved dismissively. “You can go now.”

* * *

Pete was lounging on his bed when Robby walked into his room. And he grinned when he saw him, as if greeting an old friend. 

“Dude, you look like shit.” He said. “Like someone really worked you over.”

Robby rolled his eyes. 

“You can stop with the act now.” He said. “I already talked to your boss. I’m fighting tonight.”

“Did he give you the dog-speech?” Pete grinned wider. “He really loves that one. It kinda makes sense but I think it’s a little too on the nose.”

“Yeah.” Robby agreed. “He told me all about how you are the trained dog and the rest of us are mutts.”

Pete laughed out loud at that and Robby ignored him, lying down on his bed and closing his eyes. If nothing else, it felt good to be free of that cage. 

He heard Pete get up and he felt the mattress dip as he sat down beside him. He opened his eyes to see Pete’s looking down at him. 

“You know he is full of shit, right?” Pete said, smiling. 

Robby rolled his eyes. 

“I mean, about me.” Pete clarified. “I’m not his lapdog. And I don’t give a shit about training others. I’m doing this because I love fighting. And I’ve wanted to fight you ever since I saw you in action. You get me, right? It feels good to be good at something.”

“Yeah.” Robby agreed. “But be careful what you wish for. I might just make you regret that one day.”

“You won’t.” Pete shook his head and leaned closer. “You were awesome that day and I can’t wait for us to go at it again.”

Their noses were almost touching and Robby could feel Pete’s warm breath on his face. His hand was on Robby’s chest, pressing down with the barest hint of threat behind it. And Robby could see the madness in his eyes again. 

“You are a freak, you know that?” Robby said impassively. 

“Yeah - Kelley’s right about that atleast.” Pete agreed. “We are all animals in here.”

“And what? You are supposed to be the alpha dog?” Robby smirked.

“Aren’t I?” Pete smirked back. “After I made you my bitch in every sense of the word?”

Before, that might’ve made him flush with humiliation. But Robby was past shame now. He was past everything. 

“Yeah, you did.” He agreed. “But remember - even bitches can bite back.”

Pete grinned wider and closed the gap between them. He kissed Robby on the lips - a quick peck - and then got up, blushing like a schoolgirl with a crush. 

“We are gonna have so much fun together.” He said, plopping back down on his own bed. 


	13. Robby IV

Robby’s face slammed against the cold floor and he felt a weight land on his back, knee digging painfully into his spine. His arm was twisted back, a hand leveraging his shoulder and elbow joints like they were trying to snap it in half. 

“Remember this?” Pete whispered. “It’s the same move that dude used against you. But I’m not gonna show mercy.”

_ Twist your hips. You are more flexible now. And sure, that’ll risk breaking your arm, but that’s why he won’t be expecting it. You can throw him off and keep fighting.  _

A hand grabbed his hair, lifting his head off the floor before slamming it into the concrete. 

“Give.” Pete hissed. “Or I break your fucking arm.”

Robby tapped the floor. 

Immediately, he felt the pressure being released and he laid there, limp. He felt the winner’s hand run down his bare back down to his shorts where it gave him a squeeze. Pete got up then, flipping Robby over onto his back as he put his foot on his neck. And Robby resisted the urge to grab it and throw it off. 

This was the after-match ritual that was only meant for the camera. It wasn’t enough that the loser lost, he also had to be humiliated. Humiliated how? That was up to the winner. They simply had to put up a good show. And that’s what Pete was doing now - flexing his muscles in a double-bi pose as his foot pressed down on Robby’s neck, showing off his dominance over his weaker opponent. 

He dragged Robby to his knees by his hair next before spitting on his face. Robby stared up, impassively as the glob rolled down his cheek. Pete smiled down.

“Get to it.” He ordered. 

* * *

Robby hissed in pain as the hot water hit his face, washing away the blood and grime and gunk. 

Six contenders and three matches every night, with the roster being rotated every day. It’d been over a month since this had started and Robby found himself fighting twice or thrice every week. Most of his matches were against Pete and he’d lost every single one. 

Pete had been right all along. None of the others were good enough for either of them. They were brawlers, but without proper training, they simply lacked the fighting instincts. Robby had proved that with his first two bouts and he was the only one who could put up a good fight against Pete.  Not that it made a difference. It always ended the same way it had tonight - with him either getting knocked out or put in a joint lock so painful that he was forced to submit. Still, apparently the audience enjoyed that more than simply watching Pete demolish his opponents without so much as a bruise.

Robby sensed Pete enter the showers before he actually heard him. And he didn’t react as the guy slapped his behind in passing before getting into the shower himself. 

“You enjoy yourself tonight?” He asked, turning towards Robby. 

“Sure.” Robby replied tonelessly. “I love eating dirt.”

Pete laughed and turned back, soaping himself up.

“You know, as fun as this is for me, you could ask Kelley to match you against a different opponent.” Pete said, conversationally. “Unless you like losing every single time.”

Robby shrugged. “He’s not gonna do it. It’s like you said, none of the others can put up half-decent fight.”

Pete regarded him curiously. “Kelley thinks he broke you.” He said. “He thinks you are too much of a pussy to even ask for a change. That no matter what he does, you’ll just shut up and take it.”

“Maybe he’s right.” Robby shrugged. 

“Nah...” Pete shook his head. “You might have everyone else fooled with his new ‘I don’t give a shit’ attitude, but not me. You are still trying to play the hero. Every match you spend getting beat up by me is a match you don’t spend beating someone else up.”

Robby turned to look at him carefully. “Is that what you think I’m doing?” He asked. “Did it ever occur to you that I’m doing it because you are the only one I have a problem with? That you are the only one I  _ want  _ to mess up?”

That seemed to excite the guy even more. “You are a real smooth talker!” He said, flicking some water at Robby. 

Robby rolled his eyes and turned back. He was getting used to his insanity by now. And he knew what he was about to do next. 

Predictably, Pete stepped into the spray beside him and grabbed his chin, turning his face towards him. 

“You really are pretty.” He said, running his thumb over Robby’s lip. “Did I ever tell you that?”

“Yeah. Like every single day.” Robby replied. 

“Well - all the bruises just make you look better.” He said, pressing his thumb down on the cut and making Robby hiss. 

“Same to you.” Robby replied, jerking his head towards him. 

Robby had gotten him pretty good this time - a bruise on his temple, a cut on his cheek and another one on his lip. Pete chuckled and pressed his fingers to his own face, wincing as he did. 

And then he got serious. 

“I’m sorry Robby.” He said, softly. “I got some bad news for you. You’ll have to fight Trevor in your next fight.”

“Trevor?” Robby frowned, trying to place the guy. “Binksy? Are you for real?”

“Tough luck, dude.” Pete shrugged. “You’ve seen the guy, right? He’s twice your size and built like a tank. He’s gonna demolish you.”

_ Is he serious? _

“You are kidding, right?” Robby scoffed. “That douchebag dude-bro? I could take him with both my hands tied behind my back.”

Pete couldn’t hold it in anymore. He started laughing out loud. 

“You probably could.” He said, between chuckles. 

Trevor Binks was your typical rich-kid, entitled fratboy. The kind of fuckboy who loved posting shirtless selfies on Insta - not that he could do that from in here. The dumbass was in here for driving drunk and crashing his vehicle right into a police car. Even daddy’s money and influence couldn’t save him from that one. Not once the news got hold of it. 

It did, however, buy him some special treatment. That was one snitch who never got a stitch. 

“Why would Kelley put  _ him  _ in the ring?” Robby asked, confused. “And start him off with  _ me _ ?”

“Because he asked for it.” Pete replied. “Something about watching you get beat up got that dickwad all hot and bothered. And now he wants to do it too.”

The guy was a real dumbass if he thought he could take him.

“Let him try.” Robby shrugged. “I’ll make sure that’s the last thing he does.”

“No… you won’t.” Pete sighed. “You’re gonna throw the match. Kelley’s orders.”

Robby stared at him. “You are kidding me?”

“I told you. Kelley thinks he broke you.” Pete explained. “He doesn’t trust the others not to damage that precious merchandize… but you...”

“I can take a beating, right?” Robby said through gritted teeth. “I’m good at it?”

Pete shrugged and went back to showering. 

* * *

“You are gonna love being my bitch, Keene.” Trevor said, bouncing on the balls of his feet like an excited four year old.

Robby rolled his eyes and they circled each-other in the arena. He had watched Binksy closely over the past couple of days and learned a few things about him. Like how the guy seemed to think that he was the god of all sports - which was probably a result of being told how awesome he was all his life. 

He’d even tried talking to the guy - to figure out what was going on in his head, why he wanted to fight him, what exactly Robby had done to piss him off…

“Just want to put you in your place, bro!” He’d said, playfully punching Robby in the arm as his lackeys sniggered around them. “I care a lot about right and wrong and you - getting off with just 3 months after almost killing someone - that just doesn’t sit right.”

“It was an accident.” Robby had said.

“Yeah, well, so was mine.” Binksy had replied. “But I still got five - still think it's fair?”

_ No, you deserved more. You crashed into a family car. There were kids in the back-seat - kids who got broken arms and glass in their faces because of you. And then you drove away and crashed into a cop. Your dad is the only reason you got off easy.  _

“Dude - that’s just how it works.” Robby had shrugged. 

Trevor had stood up, towering over the smaller boy as he poked his finger into his chest. 

“You know what my dad always says? The world is unfair, but it’s our job to make it a little fairer.” He’d smirked. “That’s what I’m trying to do.”

_ Bull. Shit. _

Trevor was your garden variety bully who simply enjoyed picking on people weaker than him. Robby had seen him the yard plenty of times, putting smaller boys in a headlock or rubbing their faces into dirt. 

He was built like a brick-house - that much was true. 6’2’’ and more than enough muscles to become Insta-famous - and the looks certainly did help. When the guy had come in, Robby had hoped that Pete would shift his “affections” to him, but no such luck.

“That showboat?” Pete had said, incredulously, as he’d watched the guy put on the ‘gun-show’. “Give me a break. He’ll make for a good lay but there isn’t much to him. He ain’t no Robby Keene.”

Well, he was no fighter atleast. 

Ofcourse, Mr. LaRusso had taught Robby never to underestimate an opponent. And the guy’s size and physique were impressive to the point of being intimidating. He always worked out a lot - grunting and moaning through it like he was auditioning for a porno. 

But he had no hand-eye coordination at all. Robby had seen that when he’d watched the guy on the basketball court. He reminded Robby of Demetri in his clumsiness - except Demetri atleast owned being a klutz. But this one…

… Was trying to punch him. Emphasis on ‘trying’.His fists swung wide and sloppy and Robby easily danced around him. 

_ This could be so easy,  _ Robby thought.  _ The guy is wide open. A jab to the side, a chop to the throat and a flying knee to the head - and he’d be done. _

But he had his orders. Kelley had talked to Robby personally before the match and told him what was expected of him here. Trevor had to be given “special” treatment and Robby had to stick to the script. 

Trevor went for a tackle next. He crouched and rushed and Robby had to force himself not to sidestep such a slow and obvious move. The python like arms wrapped around his torso and lifted him off his feet, squeezing him in a bearhug. We walked Robby around the ring like that, sliding him up and down and rubbing their sweaty bodies together.

“Feel that?” Trevor said, squeezing and shaking him like a ragdoll. “Feel the power of - muh guns?”

_ No, not at all.  _ Robby thought numbly.  _ You’ve got the hold on wrong and you are trying to squeeze my chest, not my waist. And you are doing a shitty job there - I’m not having any trouble breathing. What’s worse, you left my hands free.  _

“You know I can just put my thumbs in your eyes, right?” Robby said, conversationally. 

Trevor freaked out and dropped him, moving back to get some distance between the two of them. He looked scared for a moment, but then, probably after realizing that Robby had said it instead of doing it, he grinned again. 

The end of the match was already decided… but that didn’t mean Robby couldn’t rewrite the middle. If he let the guy think that he could’ve won easily, who knew how many more times he’d want to do it. 

“Let’s go, princess.” Robby said, smirking at him. 

Trevor charged again - and this time, Robby sidestepped him, grabbing his arm as he rushed past. He tripped the guy, letting his momentum carry him to the floor and twisted his arm behind him. Then he came down on him with his knee to on the back. 

It wasn’t a finishing move and given his size and weight advantage, Trevor could’ve easily powered out of it - if he knew how. So instead he writhed on the floor, twisting one way and the other, while Robby just held on. Then he gave the guy a slap on the back of his head and jumped back, letting him go. 

Trevor jumped back to his feet, stumbling a little and glowered at Robby. 

“You are gonna pay for that, Keene.” He growled. “I’m gonna fuck you up for that.”

_ Are you trying to intimidate me? Let me show you how it’s done.  _

Robby rushed him this time and Trevor’s eyes widened as he backed away. He threw an uncoordinated punch and Robby easily dodged it. He kneed him in the stomach, the bone digging deep into the muscular abs, and he heard the air go out of the guy in a whoosh. He followed up with an elbow to the back of his neck before slipping behind him and wrapping his arm around his throat. 

Then Robby slid his hand inside the back of his shorts and grabbed his bare ass. 

“Think I’m gonna have a lot of fun with this.” He said, squeezing. 

Trevor jerked and slipped out of Robby’s loose grip, pushing him away. He backed off, looking a little scared now. 

_ And that’s how you do it? _

“What’s the matter, princess?” Robby mocked. “Daddy’s not here to save your pretty little ass.”

Binksy’s face contorted with rage as he charged Robby again. And once again, Robby slipped past him. This time, he grabbed the waistband of his shorts as he did and yanked it down his legs. 

Trevor tripped and fell, his bare butt jiggling in the air as he hit the floor - but he got up right away and turned to attack. And then he tripped again, completely forgetting about his shorts around his ankles. 

_ That’s what you get for going commando, you moron. _

The boy was flushed red, covering up his privates in embarrassment. He fumbled with the waistband around his ankles with one hand, trying to pull them up, while desperately backing away from his opponent. And Robby just stood there and laughed. 

He managed to pull them back up eventually and stood up, bouncing on his feet. He took a few deep breaths and seemed to regain some of his former cockiness. 

“Gagging for it that badly, huh?” He said boldly, but Robby didn’t miss the tremor in his voice. “Don’t worry, you’ll get all of it soon enough.”

_ Let’s end this then,  _ Robby thought, resigned. 

Trevor came at him more cautiously now, swinging his fists instead of going for a tackle. And Robby stepped back, easily dodging them all. Tervor pivoted his whole body around in his heel, coming at Robby with a backhand. No doubt he’d seen the move somewhere and thought it’d be cool, but for Robby, it was like he was watching it all happen in slow-motion. 

Robby caught his wrist mid-air and put his other hand on his shoulder for leverage. Using his opponent’s body for support, Robby jumped up in the air and came down with his knee to his arm. There was a loud crack and Trevor screamed as his arm bent backwards before falling down to the ground. 

He looked down at his arm in horror - at the white bone sticking out of the bleeding flesh - and started screaming again. 

Robby stood over him, looking down in satisfaction. 

_ Job well done.  _

* * *

The guy was afraid of him now. Robby could see it in his eyes when he visited him in the infirmary. He was scared because he knew now what Robby was capable of. 

But years of entitlement was not an easy habit to break. 

“You are a dead man, Keene. You hear me? Dead man.” Trevor hissed through the pain. “Once my dad finds out...”

Robby slumped his shoulders regretfully. “Look, Trevor, I’m sorry about that, man.” He apologized. 

“You _will_ be sorry.” Trevor snarled. “Don’t think you can get away with calling it an accident this time.”

“It wasn’t an accident.” Robby chewed his lips. “I was… I was just following orders. Kelley told me that I had to finish it like this.”

That took him back. “Kelley?” Trevor frowned. 

“The Warden.” Robby clarified. 

“I know who he is.” Trevor snapped. “But he wouldn’t do that.”

“You think he wouldn’t tell me to break your arm?” Robby asked, quizzically. “The guy makes teenagers beat each-other bloody all the time.”

“Yeah - the rest of you.” Trevor replied. “But you are all trash. You deserve that shit. I don’t. I’m better than you. I shouldn’t even be in here.”

Robby smiled at him sadly. “That’s what he said, you know.” He told Trevor. “‘That asshole thinks he is better than the rest of us. He walks around like he runs the place. Time to teach him who really does.’”

Trevor was shaking his head, but Robby could see the doubt in his eyes. 

“Doesn’t matter.” He said, stubbornly. “You’re still the one who did this. And once my dad finds out...”

“You  _ can’t  _ tell your dad!” Robby said, horrified. “Do you have any idea what will happen to you if you do?”

Trevor tried to put on a brave front, but Robby saw through that. “Are you threatening me?” He asked, trembling.

“Not me, dumbass.” Robby explained. “You’ve any idea what  _ Kelley  _ would do to you if you snitch?”

“I already told you, I’m not buying it.” Trevor insisted. “Kelley wouldn’t tell you to - ”

“That doesn’t matter, okay?” Robby said, exasperated. “And it doesn’t matter if you believe me. Think about it - if you tell anyone about it, then the rest of it could come out too. The Ring, the fights, the matches… Kelley makes a lot of money from this crap. If you put that at risk… if you mess it up somehow, he’s gonna mess _you_ up.”

Trevor understood that part atleast. He’d been here long enough to know how things worked. There was a reason why the new guys weren’t told about the Ring from the start - not until they’d learned the rules and proven that they could keep a secret. 

“I’d let it go, man.” Robby said, sympathetically. “If you like, we can have a rematch and I’ll let you break my arm this time. But don’t try to take on Kelley, okay? He’ll mess you up and you are messed up enough already.”

Trevor didn’t reply - he just glared at Robby sullenly. 

“Just… think things through before you do anything.” Robby said and left him pondering on those words. 

That had gone better than he’d expected. 

* * *

Pete slammed him against the wall as soon as Robby came into the room. 

“What the FUCK is wrong with you?” He screamed in his face, spittle flying out of his mouth.

Robby turned his head to avoid it and felt it land on his cheek anyway. 

“I take it you heard about Binsky.” He said. 

“You were supposed to THROW the match.” Pete yelled. “What the hell were you THINKING?”

“That I was tired of losing.” Robby shrugged, trying to move away. 

Pete grabbed him by the collar and shoved him back again.

“We had a good thing going, dude.” He snarled. “We fought, we beat the shit out of each-other and then we did it again. We were having fun. Why did you have to mess that up?”

Robby looked at him quizzically. Pete was upset. Genuinely upset. He was actually acting like Robby had let him down. 

“You could’ve just told him that you weren’t going to throw the match.” Pete said, in a softer tone. “Or you could’ve just defeated the guy. You didn’t  _ have  _ to go that far. You didn’t  _ have  _ to break his arm. And now Kelley’s royally pissed off.”

“Yeah?” Robby scoffed. “What’s he gonna do?”

“Not him… me.” Pete shook his head. “I’m gonna be your next opponent. We’ve got a fight scheduled for tomorrow. And it’s gonna end with me breaking _both_ of your arms.”

Robby’s heart sped up at those words. Was it finally happening?

“You are gonna break my arms because Kelley told you to?” Robby asked. “I thought you weren’t his lapdog.”

“I’m not.” Pete said derisively, letting him go. “But even a stray dog knows better than to bark at the guy holding the stick.”

Pete walked back to his bed slowly and slumped down in disappointment. 

“Congrats, Robby… you finally get what you wanted all along.” He said, his voice tinged with sadness. “I’ll have to put you out of commission. And then you won’t have to fight anymore. Because you won’t be able to fight. From now on, you are just gonna get your ass kicked.”

Robby smiled at him as he headed to his bed. Yes, it was finally time for him to get what he wanted for once.


	14. Robby V

The two teens circled each-other warily in the ring. They both needed a break before starting again and they were both pretty battered already. Each tried to surreptitiously stretch and flex his muscles to lessen the pain and the exhaustion without giving his opponent an opening. 

“Don’t make it easy for me.” That was the only think Pete had asked of him. “One last great fight - you can atleast give me that.”

And Robby was more than happy to oblige. 

He was watching Pete like a hawk now, eyes not missing even the tiniest detail It was subtle - Pete shifting his weight off the injured leg, the one Robby had kicked out less than a minute ago - and that left him off-balance for a fraction of a second.

Robby charged. 

His tackle was met with an elbow to his back, but he slid sideways. He didn’t get all the way around before tightening his arms around Pete’s waist and heaving him up and back. Pete cursed as he felt himself being lifted. It wasn’t a perfect suplex, but Pete’s head and shoulder slammed against the concrete anyway, stunning him for a moment. 

Robby twisted out from under him and grabbed his leg, bending it sideways for a figure-four - but Pete realized what was happening and kicked out with his other one, nailing Robby in the stomach. Robby stepped back with an oof! but jerked the knee sideways before letting go. 

They separated again, rolling away and getting to their feet before regarding each-other cautiously. 

“You’ve been holding out on me, Keene.” Pete said, his usual smile gone from his face. 

“Not really.” Robby smirked. “You wanted to know why I had no problem with losing to you, right? That’s because every time I lost, I was actually learning how to beat you.”

A hint of excitement came back into Pete’s eyes. “And you think you can?” 

Robby smiled back.

He could. This time, he could. He hadn’t been sure when they’d started, but now he knew.

It’d been over ten minutes since the fight had started and they were both breathing hard from pain and exhaustion. But Pete’s breathing was uneven while Robby’s was steady. 

New fighting moves could be learned, but proper breathing had been the foundation of Miyagi-Do and Robby discovered that that foundation was serving him well. Pete had always been a martial-arts prodigy - which meant he’d never had to fight this long. He never had to truly test his stamina. And Robby’s was proving to be superior. 

Pete had almost gotten Robby twice. He’d managed to secure the submission holds, but Robby had slipped through them. And the last time, it’d been because Pete hadn’t had the energy to hold on to it. He’d started noticing other things as well - that Pete’s hits didn’t hit that hard, that he fractionally slower and that he was losing his focus. 

Robby could do this.

Pete rushed him this time, his shoulder slamming into Robby’s midsection. Robby responded by snaking his arm around his neck and jumping up to wrap his legs around his hips. The momentum carried the back and he focused on securing the grip. He landed on his back and the impact almost made him loosen up - but he somehow held on. Pete yelled in frustration and tried to punch him, but couldn’t get enough leverage from his position. And Robby straightened up, trying to rip his neck from his body.

Pete struggled and pushed, desperately fighting to get out of the hold. All the blood and sweat between them was making everything slippery and Robby knew he wouldn’t be able to hold on for long. So he let go, letting his opponent’s neck snap back painfully. 

He twisted his hips, throwing Pete sideways before he could regain himself. And then rolled with it, connecting his next attack. Pete swung his arm back wildly, and Robby pushed his own under it, reaching up. The other went around his neck from behind and Robby locked it in by grabbing his wrist with his hand. He wrapped his legs around the waist to finish securing the hold before Pete could realize what was happening. 

Pete threw himself back and Robby’s tailbone hit the floor painfully - but he held on and squeezed with all his might. His limbs constricted around his opponent like a boa and no matter how much Pete writhed and struggled, he couldn’t get free. 

It was over. That last slam against the floor had been his only hope and he’d failed to secure his freedom with that. He didn’t have the strength left to power out of it. His attempts to aim his elbow behind met nothing but air. And the pounding on Robby’s arms was getting weaker by the second. Robby knew he’d lose consciousness in a few. 

He felt Pete tapping his arm desperately, indicating surrender and he let go immediately. He pushed the other boy aside and Pete landed on all-fours, coughing and desperately trying to fill his lungs with air. 

Robby laid back on the cold floor. He’d won.

Languidly, he got back on his feet while Pete sucked in deep, ragged breaths. He stepped over his defeated opponent and grabbed his hair, pulling him backwards - like Pete had done to him many times before. With his other, he grabbed his chin and forced him to look up. Pete’s face was blank.

“Nice work, Keene.” He complimented in raspy voice.

“Thanks.” Robby replied, keeping him in place.

Robby wondered if he should really do this. He knew what Mr. LaRusso would say, but he was a bad guy and bad guys didn’t show mercy. It certainly looked like Pete was expecting it. He looked a little sad, but mostly, he looked resigned to his fate.

“Get on with it.” Pete rasped again. 

_ If you insist. _

Robby adjusted his grip and twisted his neck sideways.

* * *

Robby hesitated in front of the door, unsure of whether to go in. He’d had a busy morning already - on top of a busy night - and he felt exhausted and emotionally drained. But he felt like he owed this to the guy - even though logically, he knew he didn’t owe him anything. 

Steeling himself, Robby slid the door open and into the infirmary.

Pete was sitting up in his bed, staring straight ahead. He had a brace around his neck and he had to turn his whole upper-body around to look at Robby. 

“Relax - you didn’t break my neck.” He said, grinning in greeting. “It’s just a sprain.”

“I knew that.” Robby said, casually. He sat down on the chair next to him and put his feet up on the bed. 

“You knew that, huh?” Pete smirked. “You knew exactly how hard to twist to hurt but not break?”

“Give or take.” Robby shrugged. 

Pete chuckled and then hissed as the laughter hurt his ribs. 

“Well, that was your mistake. You should’ve finished me when you had the chance.” He said. “Now, I’ll be back up and running in no time and then it’s payback time.”

_ No,  _ Robby thought sadly,  _ this ends today. _

“You could’ve killed me.” Pete added, his voice softer now. “Why didn’t you?”

“And add another ten years to my sentence?” Robby scoffed. “No thanks.”

Pete laughed and winced again. 

“Seriously though - why did you let me off easy?” He asked. “You could’ve put me out of commission for good. You could’ve broken my arms like I was going to. Or my legs. Or you could’ve pounded me bloody. Why didn’t you?”

Robby stared at him intently. 

“Why would I give you what you want?” He asked with narrowed eyes.

Pete frowned and looked at him bemused.

“You are one messed up mother-fucker, you know that.” Robby continued. “And you are also a coward.”

Pete blinked. “No one has ever called me a coward before.”

“Well, you are.” Robby said. “Too pussy to choose - so you want others to make the choice for you.”

He looked even more confused now. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You want two different things, Pete.” Robby explained. “You want to stop fighting. You want to stop hurting others. But you do like fighting - and you know you are good at it. You don’t know who you are gonna be without it. You are too scared to give it up… so you want someone else to make you give it up. For someone to beat you so badly that you won’t be able to fight anymore.”

“Are you insane?” Pete laughed. “What the hell are you talking about? Why the hell would I ever want to give up fighting?”

“Because you killed a guy.” Robby said. “And you don’t know how to live with that.”

“Sure I do.” Pete replied. “I told you already - it wasn’t my fault. It was an accident and I have no reason to feel guilty.”

“Then why do you keep dreaming about him?” Robby asked. 

Pete’s smile disappeared and he looked uncertain. He turned his face away. 

“I… don’t.” He said, firmly. 

“You talk in your sleep, did you know that?” Robby said. “You have nightmares, like, every night. And it’s always the same thing - you apologize, over and over again. To him. To his mother. You beg for their forgiveness. You keep saying that you didn’t mean to...”

“Bullshit. I don’t have dreams.” Pete snarled. “You wanna get in my head, Keene? You’re gonna have to do better.”

“Troy Baker - that was his name, right? That’s the name you keep calling out.”

Pete stared at him, breathing hard. 

“Dreams don’t mean anything.” He argued. 

“Then why did you tell your dad to give up on your appeal?” Robby asked. 

His jaw clenched in anger. “You’ve been spying on me?”

Robby shrugged. “You knew so much about me already. Figured I’d even the odds.”

“Well, you can shove your odds and your psycho-babble up your ass.” He growled. “You don’t know me, okay?”

“Tough to face the truth about yourself, isn’t it?” Robby smiled sadly. “Tough to admit that there is something you like even better than fighting?”

“Yeah? What’s that?” Pete scoffed. 

“This. Being hurt.” Robby said, gesturing to his body. He put his hand on Pete’s face and pressed his thumb down on the swollen lip, making him hiss in pain. “You think I don’t see you? Pressing down on your bruises every chance you get? Every time you think no one’s looking or every time you are too lost in your head to care?”

Pete looked at him, wide-eyed and scared. 

“That’s why you were so happy when I came in here, right?” Robby continued. “You were too good of a fighter to let yourself get hurt on purpose. But if someone showed up who was just as good as you… someone who could hurt you for real… or even put an end to your fighting...”

Pete looked away, blinking his watery eyes. Robby could hear his breath stuck in his throat as he swallowed thickly. He sniffed and steadfastly looked at the wall in front of him. 

“So what’s the prognosis, Dr. Freud?” He asked, thickly. “You are gonna tell me that I have to find a way to move on? To forgive myself?”

“Why should you?” Robby replied. “You killed someone, you asshole. You deserve everything you get.”

Pete barked out a laugh. 

“So when did you get your psychology degree?” Pete asked. “How did you figure all this out?”

“I figured it out because I’m the same as you.” Robby replied. “I’ve messed up everything good in my life too - I just don’t lie to myself about it.”

Pete nodded numbly. 

“So where do we go from here?” He asked. “Just keep beating the shit out of each-other? Keep hurting each-other?”

“Better than hurting those who don’t deserve it.” Robby shrugged. 

Pete smiled and nodded. “Guess I’ll see you back in the Ring then...”

_ Right…  _ Robby had almost forgotten.

“About that.” He said. “There isn’t going to be a Ring anymore. I talked to my lawyer today. Gave him a full statement about the scam Kelley’s running. And told him to take it to Judge Binks.”

Pete looked up, surprised. “Judge… Binks?”

“Trevor’s dad.” Robby clarified. 

Pete’s eyes widened. “Robby, what the hell did you do?” He asked, horrified. 

“What I knew I had to - from the moment you told me that Kelley wanted me to fight Trevor.” Robby replied. 

“Dude… Kelley’s already pissed off at you.” Pete’s jaw dropped open. “When he finds out about this - ”

“Kelley’s done. Or he will be soon enough.” Robby smirked, looking down at the confused boy. “See - I told Trevor that Kelley wanted me to break his arm to teach him a lesson. And he believed me. I also told him that he’d shut up about it if he knew what was good for him. But guys like him… they think they own the world. No way was he ever going to take that lying down. He was always going to run straight to his daddy.”

“You think that’ll change anything?” Pete asked. 

“It will. Because guys like his dad - they  _ do  _ own the world.” Robby explained. “He is a circuit court judge and his precious little boy got a boo-boo. You think he’s not gonna be on warpath now?”

“And how do you know he’s not gonna come after you?” Pete asked. 

“Me? I’m nothing. No one.” Robby shrugged. “Just an attack dog following orders. He’s gonna go after the guy really responsible.”

Pete shook his head, wincing. “You screwed up, man.” He insisted. “You screwed up, bad.”

“We’ll see.” Robby replied. “Just thought I’d warn you. Shit’s gonna rain down now and you better get an umbrella.”

“No… Robby… you don’t understand.” Pete said, panicking. “Kelley might be done, but that doesn’t matter. He’d get fired, sure. Maybe even go to prison. But that doesn’t mean shit. You still won’t be safe.”

“You think I care?” Robby shrugged. 

“Listen to me, dumbass.” Pete almost shouted. “You snitched, okay? That’s the one rule here you do not break. And now  _ everyone _ is gonna come after you. You thought you had it bad before with guys challenging you to fight? They are not even gonna do that now. They’ll come at you with shivs and shanks from behind.”

“Like I said, I don’t care.” Robby shrugged again. “I know we’ll beat them off.”

“We?” Pete said incredulously. “You think I’ll help you with this shit?”

“I know you will.” Robby grinned. “You don’t wanna lose your sparring partner, do you? I still haven’t taught you any karate.”

Pete looked at him in shock for a moment. And then he smiled. Grinned. The madness was back in his eyes. 

“Don’t die before I get out of here.” He ordered. 

Robby smiled back, punching him in the shoulder. That was one order he’d be sure to follow. 


	15. Robby VI

“Are you gonna be okay?” Pete asked, dejected, as he watched Robby pack his bag.

“I’m getting out and you are the one stuck in here.” Robby replied. “Worry about yourself.”

“I’m not the snitch.” Pete shrugged. 

“No - just the guy who protected one.” Robby reminded him. 

“Didn’t need to do much of that either.” Pete replied. 

That wasn’t true. Robby didn’t think he could’ve survived the past month in there without Pete watching his back. 

The dominoes had started tumbling right away - the investigation, the interviews, lots of suits coming and going - all of it ending with Kelley’s arrest within the week. And then the whole place had become a warzone and Robby found himself deep in enemy territory. 

Somehow, word had gotten out and Robby had found himself being assaulted from all sides. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out the dynamics of his new situation. He had to figure out the safe places and stick to them as much as possible. And even there he had to be on his guard for the signs - things going too quiet, guys behaving oddly, mad-dogging him more than usual or guards "inconspicuously" walking out of the room.

And there were places where he was vulnerable - the showers, the gym after a workout, any of the corridors without cameras…

That’s why he’d needed Pete. No one could be on their guard 24/7 and one mistake was all it’d have taken. Pete hadn’t needed to fight for him much - Robby was more than capable of handling that part himself. But he’d still needed him to watch his back and warn him of any incoming surprise attacks. 

“You don’t need to worry about me.” Pete told him. “They never even tried to come after me. You were the one they wanted and once you are gone...”

“Never said I was worried about you.” Robby replied stiffly.

“Still sticking to the bad guy act, huh?” Pete scoffed. Then more seriously, “You think your dad’s out there? Waiting to pick you up? Or that LaRusso guy you told me about?”

Robby shook his head. “I know they are not.”

“So… your mom - ”

“Rehab.” Robby replied. “It’s better that way. Being around me is not good for her.”

Pete didn’t comment on that. He leaned back and watched Robby continue packing. 

“Kelley was wrong about you, you know?” He said after a while. “You are not a wild dog. You are a wolf. You can’t be trained or broken.”

“Thanks?” Robby said, uncertainly. 

“That wasn’t a compliment.” Pete explained. “Atleast dogs can live with people. Wolves can’t. They are either caged or driven away or put down.”

Robby nodded. Pete wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t know already. Any dreams he’d had of going back to his old life, of reconciling with people he’d cared about - he’d given up on those long ago.

He could hear Pete shuffling behind him, opening the drawer and pulling something out. And he turned around to see what.

“Here.” Pete said, holding out what looked like a card.

“What’s this?” Robby asked. It was a plain card with just a name and a number on it.

“A way for even wild animals to find a place to belong to.” Pete said, cryptically. “I always figured I’d end up there. And maybe you can too.”

Robby shrugged, putting the card in his pocket and hoisted his backpack on his shoulders. He turned to leave, but Pete grabbed him and turned him around. 

“Take care of yourself, ‘karate kid’.” He said, smiling at him. “I’m gonna miss you.”

* * *

Robby breathed in a lungful of polluted LA air and it smelled sweeter than anything he’d inhaled before. Which was odd because it’d smelled the same two feet behind him - back where the iron gate was. Two feet should not have made any difference and yet, somehow, it did. 

He looked around, confirming something he’d known already. The parking lot was empty - no black and yellow Challenger with a snake on the hood and no grey SUV with a ‘LaRusso Auto’ bumper sticker. And that was pretty much what he’d expected. 

He dug around in his pocket and pulled out the card he’d been given. 

_ A place for even the wild animals of this world, huh? _

Robby shook his head, smiling to himself. Four months living together and Pete still hadn’t understood him. Not really. Robby wasn’t a wild animal - he wasn’t a wolf or a dog or anything of that kind. Because even wild animals could atleast learn to live together without hurting each-other. 

Robby… was a monster. Something mangled and twisted from the start who hurt everyone around him. And who’d keep hurting people around him no matter where he went. He’d proven that even during his time inside. Even in a place filled with rabid dogs, he’d been the worst one. The one who’d hurt the most of them and made them afraid of him. There was no place for someone like him out there - not really. 

He almost crumpled and threw away the card, but then thought better of it. If nothing else, it was something to remember Pete by. So he put it back in his pocket. 

Then he picked a direction on a whim and started walking.

* * *

Monsters like him didn’t belong with people. They shouldn’t try to live among them because that always ended badly. It was much better for them to live apart, in fringes, only interacting with "real" people out of necessity. Keep everyone at a distance and nobody would get hurt. 

That’s what Robby believed with all is heart and that’s what he chose to do. 

But he’d forgotten something - something very important. Monsters  _ could  _ live among people if they wanted to. They could put on their human disguise, look and act like everyone else and go on living - hurting and poisoning everyone else around them for years. They could do it so well that often they themselves forgot who they truly were. Sure, people wised up eventually, but the lives they ended up destroying in the process could never be recovered. 

Robby never should’ve forgotten that. After all, he’d done the same, once upon a time. Back when he’d convinced himself that he could change for the better - he’d put on his human disguise and fooled everyone into thinking that he was one of them. 

And Warden Kelley had done the same. Who knew how many lives he’d destroyed - how many kids like Pete he’d left twisted and broken and beaten - before he’d come face to face with someone worse.

Robby never should’ve forgotten that - but he had. And it’d taken John Kreese to remind him. 

Kreese was a monster too - but of a different kind. While other monsters just hurt people, that wasn’t enough for this guy. No - he had to go a step further and turn others into monsters like him. And the thought of that - the thought of having more like him running around - that turned Robby’s stomach. The moment Kreese came looking for him, Robby knew he had to do something about him. 

No - he knew that _only he_ could do something about him. After all, you needed a monster to take down a monster. Sure, Robby knew that he’d have to hurt people again - but some of them deserved to be hurt. And others… he’d enjoy hurting them. That’s what he did, after all. That’s what he was good at. That was his nature. 

And if he got something out of it for himself… 


	16. Robby VII

Truth be told, Robby didn’t expect the whole thing to go so well. It wasn’t like he had a plan or anything. He simply knew that he had to be himself - and make sure that Kreese was himself as well - and things would work out. And things just kept falling into place one after the other. 

The other Cobras for instance, that came together beautifully. Robby expected Kreese to tell them to let it go. From a purely practical standpoint, it did not make sense to have a war going on inside your own dojo. But Kreese had been too mesmerized by not just his ruthless attitude, but his improved skills as well to do anything about it. He thought that Robby was leading by example - that he was trying to  _ impress _ the others with his commitment to the Cobra Kai creed. 

The other Cobras certainly helped - with their pitiful plotting and their petty ambushes. If they’d actually been serious about getting payback…

No, that wasn’t fair. They were serious - they simply didn’t know any better. They were still too naive and they had no idea how prepared Robby was for all this. After living through a month in juvie like that - expecting an attack at any time from any direction in any number - it was like something about how he saw the world was now fundamentally different. He found himself noticing the subtlest of changes without even knowing what exactly he was seeing there. It was like he could sense a change in the air and literally feel their malicious intent.

Still - they could’ve tried to do better. Did Hawk really have to gloat  _ before  _ he attacked? Did Tory really have to make that sound as she charged? What was the point of announcing yourself before a ‘surprise’ attack? And that whispering to Kreese openly in the class and then hiding her hand behind her back - did she really think she was being clever?

Even Kreese had turned out to be softer than he’d expected. He wasn’t even trying to teach his students how to take a hit and that was just… negligent. Pain could cripple you in a real fight and learning how to push past and fight through it - that was perhaps the most valuable thing Pete had taught him in their time together. 

Pete… Robby shuddered at the thought of letting that guy loose among these kids. These guys had so much to learn and for their sake, Robby hoped that they’d never have to.

That’s why it was both a relief and a shock when Johnny showed back up. 

Robby really had expected his father to have given up on even the pretense of caring - but it looked like Johnny was more stubborn than that. He hadn’t bothered to even try to find Robby while he’d been living in the streets, but the moment he was learning karate from someone else, Johnny’s ego couldn’t bear it. 

He’d been afraid for a moment when Johnny had shown up - uncertain of how he’d feel. He’d been afraid that despite his epiphany, traces of the old anger and resentment and… desire would still be there and they’d lead him to make a mistake. 

But he’d felt nothing at all. Apart from pity and finding the whole thing kind of funny. Like how Johnny thought that  _ Kreese  _ was corrupting  _ him…  _ and that he could  _ save  _ him. Those delusions and that desperation - Robby found it strangely satisfying. Revenge had never been part of the plan, but it’d still felt good to see that hurt and rejected look on Johnny’s face. Robby was a monster after all and hurting people was in his nature. 

Johnny had still done him a solid, though. He could play the dragon all he wanted, but without a knight in shining armor to protect them, the villagers would’ve just cowered and submitted. Johnny getting his shit together and stealing Kreese’s students - that wasn’t something Robby had accounted for, but it was a godsend anyway.

And the challenge for the tournament - Robby could’ve almost laughed at that. 

That was the only “plan” he’d had from the start - show the whole world exactly what kind of monster Kreese was trying to turn them into. And then he wouldn’t be able to hide any more. Winning or losing wasn’t going to matter here at all - but Robby knew he’d win anyway. And he wanted to. He knew that’s not how stories typically went - but in this one, the bad guy was going to win. 

Seeing Mr. LaRusso there - talking to his dad - that was the only thing that threw him for a moment. And when he saw Hawk’s moves in his first match, he knew what that meant and somehow, he still felt that familiar pang of jealousy. 

But as it turned out, there was no reason to feel like that at all. Mr. LaRusso  _ hadn’t  _ trained Hawk after all - Robby could tell that the moment he faced the guy. Hawk was simply  _ copying  _ the moves he’d seen, but he didn’t have the breathing and focus and the balance that was the foundation of Miyagi-Do. And without that foundation, those moves crumpled like paper before him. 

Like that pathetic attempt to use Robby’s own move against him - he might’ve thought that he was going for the element of surprise, but it was slow and sloppy and he saw it coming from a mile away. 

No - the only thing that gave Robby any real pause that day was the look on Daniel’s face. He’d expected to see revulsion and hatred there as he showed everyone his true nature - but what he found was guilt and shame instead. He knew what that meant - Mr. LaRusso still refused to acknowledge what he saw. That was still deluding himself into thinking that Robby was simply misguided. Corrupted by Kreese, certainly, but not beyond saving. 

Well, he knew how to put an end to that. Sam had always been his weakness and Robby used that effectively. And after that…

And now… it was time to put an end to this farce. 

* * *

Kreese pushed the glass half-full of amber liquid towards him while lifting up another identically filled one. 

“Drink up.” He said, smiling happily. “That’s the good stuff. It’ll put some hair on your chest.”

“I think I prefer it smooth.” Robby replied, casually.

Kreese chuckled at that. “You kids today with your manscaping.” He said, pointing a finger at him. “Let me tell you something - back in my day, ladies appreciated a little shag under the shirt. It reminded them who the real men were.”

Robby snorted back a laugh and took the glass. He raised it to Kreese and Kreese raised his back and they both drank together. Robby was no stranger to alcohol, but it had been a while and the liquor burned its way down his throat making his choke and cough a little. 

Kreese smiled at him like an indulgent grandfather. The guy wasn’t half-bad company when he wasn’t being a total psycho. Robby could actually see them getting along someday for real - if the guy ever figured out a way to accept himself. 

That had been the best part of his whole game. For someone who always acted so certain and so in-control of everything, he’d had no idea about what was actually going on. He knew everything, he saw everything and yet, he did not understand anything. It was amusing and pitiful at the same time.

“Here’s to new beginnings.” Kreese said, raising his glass again. “To taking Cobra Kai to new heights.”

Robby didn’t return the toast.

“You really think they’ll come back.” He asked casually.

“Ofcourse they will.” Kreese said, still oblivious. “Mark my words, kid. This dojo will be filled wall to wall by the end of the week. Students old and new. And you in the front, leading them all. Showing them what it means to be a true Cobra...”

“...Kicking their asses.” Robby quipped. 

Kreese cleared his throat. “About that… I think you have proven your point well enough. Maybe you should go easy on them from now on.” He chose his next words carefully. “I’m not asking you to show them mercy - we don’t do that pussy shit here. But the point is to make them tough - not break them. You hit something too hard too fast and it breaks after just once, but you hit it more gently for a thousand times, it ends up way tougher than before.”

Robby breathed out a laugh and didn’t reply, which Kreese took for agreement.

“I also think you should talk to your dad.” Kreese continued. “I know you had this condition that he has to leave you alone and I know you two have your differences… but it’s time to put that aside now. We need to get our family back together and Johnny is a big part of it. I’d say you have already punished him enough, right?”

“Yeah - sure.” Robby shrugged. This was never actually about punishing Johnny - that was just the cherry on top.

Kreese nodded, approvingly. “This has been the best victory in Cobra Kai history. Not a single point lost and most of your opponents out of commission. The way I won tonight - ”

Robby couldn’t hold it in any longer. He’d started sniggering at the start, but when Kreese talked about “I” winning, it turned into an all out bellow. Robby doubled over with laughter, clutching his stomach as Kreese watched him dumbfounded.

“What's so funny?” Kreese asked, confused. 

“ _ You _ won?” Robby said, wiping his tears. “ _ You _ didn’t win, Sensei,  _ I _ won.”

“Well...” Kreese corrected calmly, still a step behind. “Cobra Kai won.”

“No, it didn’t.” Robby shook his head. 

Kreese still looked confused, so Robby decided to take pity on the guy.

“Man confronts you, he’s the enemy, right?” Robby said. “But what about the enemy who  _ doesn’t  _ confront you? Who pretends to be your friend instead?”

Kreese narrowed his eyes at him. And then they widened as understanding came. 

“Who got to you? LaRusso?” He spat, angrily. 

“No one.” Robby replied, leaning back into his chair. “This was all me.” 

Kreese’s brows furrowed as he considered that. “What was all you?” He asked. “You… helped me win. You helped me get what I wanted. Is that what you think an enemy does?”

“I gave you what you asked for - what you deserve, but not what you want.” Robby replied. “There is a difference.”

“I wanted to win.” Kreese insisted, still a step behind.

“And what exactly did you win,  _ Sensei? _ ” Robby cut to the heart of the matter. “Some dumb trophy? Look around you - All you have left are four walls with some words on them. That’s not a dojo - not without students.”

“They’ll come back.” Kreese said, confidently. “We showed them tonight what it means to be a Cobra… a badass. And everyone wants to be a badass deep down.”

Robby shook his head, a little sadly. This was getting pathetic now.

“We are not badasses,  _ Sensei. _ ” He told Kreese. “We are just… bad. That’s what I really showed them tonight - what Cobra Kai turns you into. And the others… the people… out there - they are not bad people inside. Not like us. They’re good - or atleast, they want to be good. They want to do the right thing. They want to treat each-other nicely. They don’t want to go around hurting others.”

“I can’t believe you’d be this naive after everything you’ve seen.” Kreese scoffed. “You think that if people like us weren’t around everyone would just get along and sing kumbaya?”

“No.” Robby shook his head. “The world needs us too. See - they want to be good, but they forget what it means sometimes. They… lose their way. And that’s why you need bad guys around - to show them what it means to be bad. Where they are headed, what will happen to them… what they will become...”

Kreese stared at him intently, absorbing his words. 

“I showed the whole world what being a Cobra means.” Robby finished. “I’ve been showing them that ever since I got here. And so have you. Nobody liked it. Nobody wanted to be a part of it. That’s why they all left. And that’s why none of them is coming back.”

“You are wrong.” Kreese said, his voice thick with emotion. “They’ll all come back. You’ll see.”

“No… I won’t.” Robby said, downing the rest of the drink in one go. “I did what I wanted to do here and now I’m done. I’m out too.”

“So that’s it, huh?” Kreese asked. “After everything I did for you? You were rotting in the gutter when I found you.  _ Nobody  _ gave a shit about your sorry ass except for me - not even your own father. I gave you a life, a purpose and this is how you repay me?”

Robby shrugged. “You bring a snake into your home and you are surprised when it bites?”

“Bite  _ me? _ ” Kreese snarled. “You have no idea who you are dealing with, kid. You think you can be done? Just like that? No - you are not done until  _ I  _ say you are done. I’m still your fucking Sensei and I think it’s time I taught you a few more lessons about respect.”

“You think you can?” Robby asked evenly. “ _ Sensei? _ ”

“You think you can take me because you won some dumb tournament?” Kreese sneered. “Newsflash kid - I didn’t teach you everything I know.”

“You didn’t teach me everything  _ I  _ know either.” Robby replied, deadly serious. 

Kreese stood up with a start - a move meant to intimidate - but Robby didn’t even flinch. They stared at each-other in a contest of wills, one that Robby knew he’d already won.

“Get the fuck out of my dojo.” Kreese growled. “You were never worth it, you piece of shit. Hawk was ten times the student you ever were. And Diaz is worth a hundred of you. Atleast they know what it means to be loyal.”

Robby chuckled. “If you’d realized that sooner, it wouldn’t have come to this.”

“ _ It hasn’t come to this. _ ” Kreese insisted. “ _ You _ are the problem here.  _ You  _ are a disease and I’m cutting you out. Once you are gone, they’ll all come back running.”

“You stole those students from my dad before - think you can pull that again?” Robby asked, smirking. Then he got up and shrugged. “Well, if you can, then good for you. If they fall for your shit a second time, then they deserve what they get. But… that has nothing to do with me anymore. I’m finished here.”

“Yes, you are.” Kreese agreed. “You are finished. You think you have won, but you got nothing left either. Go back to the gutter and rot, you piece of shit. That’s where you belong.”

“Nah… I think I’ll go back to my apartment.” Robby said casually. “It’s warmer there. More comfortable.”

Kreese’s face contorted in rage. “ _ My  _ apartment.” He shouted. “I paid for it.”

“No… my apartment.” Robby smirked back. “My name on the lease. Thanks for paying for the whole year, by the way.”

He turned to leave and he was almost out the door when Kreese called out again.

“Robby, wait...” The anger was gone from his voice now and Robby turned around curiously. He was working his jaw, trying to say something and Robby could practically see the wheels turning in his head.

“Things… obviously got out of hand here. Somehow.” Kreese said, calmly. “I don’t… believe that you are the kind of person who’d do all this on purpose. You are saying these things because you are angry for some reason. So if I did something to piss you off, if I did something wrong - can’t we just talk about it?”

“Something wrong, huh?” Robby said, thoughtfully. 

He could give the old man that much atleast. Leave him a rope to hold on to - and whether he used it as a lifeline or as something to hang himself with, that would be up to him.

“You were right about one thing, Kreese.” Robby said, calmly. “The world is a hard, cruel and merciless place. People  _ should  _ face that fact. And they  _ should  _ learn how to deal with it.”

“That’s all I ever wanted to do.” Kreese replied. “Teach these kids how to survive in a world like that.”

“But what you taught them was wrong.” Robby explained. “See - there are people, like Mr. LaRusso, who see all the ugliness and do something to make it better. Even if it’s just a little bit. And then there are people like my dad who want to make it better, but they just don’t know how. And then there is someone like you...” Robby smiled at him, sadly. “You don’t want to make it better - you just want the cycle of hate and cruelty to keep going. That’s what makes you the monster, Kreese. And everybody sees that now - except for you.”

Robby left him with those words and walked out of the dojo, leaving Cobra Kai behind for good. 

* * *

He felt light-headed, almost ecstatic and he wasn’t sure whether it was the whiskey he’d downed or finally being done with the act, but he was feeling better about himself than he had in a long time. He didn’t fool himself into thinking he’d changed - not this time. He was still a monster. But, maybe even monsters could end up doing some good in this world every now and then. 

He stopped and pulled out his wallet, taking out the card Pete had given him months ago. He looked at the name and the number, barely able to make it out in the dim streetlight. He considered his options.

Monsters didn’t belong among humans - not even with a human disguise. But maybe… just maybe… he could pass for an animal instead. 


	17. Robby VIII

His mind was somewhere else today. On Miguel and his little visit, to be precise. And that was making it harder for him to focus. He’d genuinely thought that he was done with all of them. That he was finally free of his past. But like a bad penny they just kept showing up.

Why  _ had  _ Diaz come back?  _ After  _ Robby had let him escape? Robby had  _ shown  _ him how dangerous he was and Diaz surely  _ knew  _ how badly it could’ve ended. Where did he get the balls to just walk back in like that? And how did he know that Robby wasn’t going to hurt him? Even Robby hadn’t known that. 

He hoped that Miguel would stay gone this time, but he knew better than to rely on that. It looked like this shit was starting all over again and he couldn’t let that happen. He’d have to figure something out. Maybe leave his apartment… disappear for a while…

“Focus, Scrappy-Doo!” A voice yelled out, bringing Robby back to the present. 

He rolled with the punch which made it hurt less, but it still hit him like a ton of bricks. He danced away trying to focus on the giant in front of him. 

Alvin was not a man you went up against half-assed. Six foot five and made of pure steel - that guy had more wins under his belt than Robby had fights in his life. He was over twice Robby’s age, rugged face with a nose that had been broken and healed over many times and despite his size, the guy moved like a panther.

Robby would need to pull every trick from his book to have even a prayer at winning this one. 

The guy’s reach was dangerous, so Robby would have to get in there - too close for a proper hit, but not close enough to be grabbed. He ducked under the swinging fist and returned with a one-two combo to his sides - which that dumb brick wall barely even felt. Robby aimed his knee at the guy’s balls, but Alvin shifted at the last moment and it thudded uselessly against his thigh instead. A vicious backhand hit Robby like a truck and sent him sprawling on the ground. 

_ Oh shit! _

Alvin grinned ferally, advancing on him and crowding him into a corner. His hand closed around Robby’s throat, lifting him to his feet and then off them into the air. Robby’s back hit the steel cage and he gagged and desperately pounded on the arm holding him aloft. 

_ Focus! Figure a way out! _

Using Alvin’s hand for leverage, Robby swung his lower body up and wrapped his legs around the guy’s neck, locking in his ankles together. 

_ Good! Now put him to sleep before the Hulk chokes you out. _

Alvin swung him around as if he weighed nothing and slammed him on the ground, making the whole ring quake. The impact made Robby’s whole body go numb and his legs dropped involuntarily. He laid there on the ground, limp and boneless, before Alvin lifted him up and slammed him down again. And he could do nothing but tap-out when the guy started twisting his arm behind him. 

He’d lost this one.

* * *

“Why they call you Scrappy-Doo, huh?”

Robby had been sitting on the bench in the locker room, holding his head in pain, when he heard the accented voice. He looked up to see the source and found the fat, bald, middle-aged man behind it. From the leering grin on his face to all the gold accessories on him, everything about the guy screamed sleazebag. But Robby was getting used to seeing his kind around.

“Because I keep challenging guys way bigger than me.” Robby replied. He saw the confusion on the man’s face and figured he didn’t get the reference. “It’s a cartoon character - a small dog that keeps trying to pick fights with monsters.”

“Ah...” The guy nodded, understanding. “Is good. Real good. If odds against you, more money for me if you win. I make big money when you win the other day. And even if you lose… ehh!”

Robby rolled his eyes and looked away. He was in too much pain already to deal with this guy.

“But you win more, yes?” He went on, blithely. “Better for me and better for you. You need something to help you win more?”

“Leave the kid alone, Zarkarian.” A new voice growled. “And get the fuck out of here. Locker room isn't open to visitors.”

“But I try to help the kid!” Zarkarian argued. 

Alvin advanced on him threateningly. “I said, Get. The fuck. Out of. Here.”

The Armenian knew better than to push his luck. With an annoyed grunt, he turned and walked away. And Robby gratefully returned to holding his head. The entire right side of his face felt swollen. 

“Turn around.” Alvin ordered without any preamble as he set the first-aid kit down on the bench. 

Robby obeyed without question. A huge hand gripped his chin, lifting his face up as the older man surveyed the damage. Then he let it go and opened the box and started dousing a cotton swab with alcohol. The hand came back to Robby’s face, holding it in place and Robby hissed in pain as the rubbing spirit burned against the wound on his cheek.

“Thanks for going easy on me out there.” Robby told the bigger guy. “But don’t make a habit of it. It doesn’t end well for guys who underestimate me.”

Alvin stared at him blankly, without stopping his ministrations.

“This isn’t funny anymore, kid.” He said, deadpan. “You think I like beating up children half my size and half my age? You think that’s why I come here?”

“Thought you came here for the money.” Robby quipped. 

“Is that why you are here?” Alvin said, sarcastically. “There are easier ways to make money. Less painful ones too. Even for guys like us.”

Robby didn’t reply. He simply let the guy keep cleaning up the blood and grime from his face. 

“We all laughed at you, you know?” Alvin told him. “When you first came here - we thought you were some punk who’d taken a couple of karate classes and was out to prove how edgy and badass he was. We figured you’d learn your lesson after a couple of beatdowns and run back home with your tail between your legs.”

Robby shrugged, grinning at him smugly. 

“You proved us wrong - I won’t deny that.” Alvin continued. “We were all impressed when we saw how good you were. But then you started challenging guys above your weight class - ”

“I already beat all the guys in my weight class - the ones who took me on, anyway.” Robby reminded him. “And the one above too. How’s it my fault that they all turned out to be a bunch of pussies?”

That got Robby a clip over the ear and he rubbed the side of his head with an “Oww!”.

“Don’t be a smartass.” Alvin reprimanded. “Guys sweat and puke to stay a hair below their actual weight class and there you were challenging guys way bigger than you. We thought you were a cocky idiot at first. A little dumbass kid who didn’t know what was good for him and was too stupid to learn. That’s why we started calling you Scrappy-Doo. But now...”

“Now…?” Robby prompted.

“You are messed up, kid. Real messed up in the head. Should’ve expected that from a friend of Pete’s.” Alvin said, with a bitter laugh. “You like getting hurt. You like getting beat up. I don’t know what happened to make you like this, but get your shit together.”

“Thanks, dad!” Robby said, rolling his eyes.

“If I was your dad, you’d be across my knee, getting your ass warmed.” Alvin scowled. “I’ve half a mind to do it anyway. I just might, if I didn’t think that you’d enjoy it.”

“Yeah. Sure.” Robby smirked. “Daddy!”

That earned him another clip over the ear.

“Get your shit together, kid.” Alvin repeated. “And get the hell out of here. You don’t belong here.”

_ I know that already. I don’t belong anywhere. _

“You got some fucked-up daddy-issues, that much is obvious.” Alvin went on. “But you’d be better off as a stripper in the long run. You got the face for it… for now. Spend enough time here and you’ll end up with a mug like mine. It’s not too late yet.”

“I don’t have anywhere else to go.” Robby said, quietly.

Alvin sighed, throwing aside the bloody swab. He was rooting around the kit again. 

“I heard Perry talked to you.” Alvin said. “You give his offer any thought?”

“No!” Robby scoffed indignantly. “Guy’s a conman - I know when something’s too good to be true.”

“Too good…?” Alvin shook his head, exasperated. “Yeah, the guy is a scam-artist alright. A real vulture. He hangs around places like these, looking to scope out some talent and grab it cheap. That’s what he’s trying to do - lock you down before others catch on to how good you are.”

“So you are telling me to let him con me?” Robby asked, bemused.

“It’d be better than this - but no.” Alvin replied. “Robby, you are good at this, okay? Real good. Good enough to go pro. A couple of scouts are already asking about you. Look into that. Talk to them. Look up a few more MMA gyms around and see which one makes you the best offer. Trust me, these guys would lap you up.”

Robby huffed out a laugh and didn’t say anything.

“If fighting’s really what you want to do, then this is how you do it.” Alvin continued. “You won’t be getting your ass kicked so much - and you’ll still get plenty of good competition. More money. More respect. Actual fans cheering you on instead of degenerate gamblers.”

“If it’s that awesome, why don’t you go for it?” Robby asked. 

“You don’t think I tried?” Alvil replied, sadly. “My size is the only real thing I’ve got going for me. And I’m already way past my peak. But you are still growing. You’ll just get better with time.”

Robby had had the same dream once - a long time ago. Fighting and winning tournaments to the cheers of crowds while his dad looked on, proud and impressed. 

“There - all done.” Alvin said, finishing up with the butterfly stitches on his cheek. “Put some ice on it when you get home. And give some serious thought to what I said. You’ll be winning trophies in no time at all.”

_ Trophies? Miguel will never win trophies. He used to be a great fighter too - strong, fast, skilled. He deserved a chance to get better, to win clean. And I took that from him. I made sure that he’ll never even enter a tournament again. How is it fair that I get to keep doing it if he can’t? _

“Stop it, alright.” Robby said, his voice thick with emotion. “Stop trying to save me from myself. Others have tried and it didn’t end well for them.”

Alvin looked at the boy glaring at him with pity. Then he shook his head.

“I don’t know what you did that messed you up this bad, but you don’t deserve this.” He said, getting up. “But you are right - if you are this screwed up, maybe there is no saving you. Figured I’d give it a shot anyway.”


	18. Robby IX

Someone pounded at the door and the sound went straight to Robby’s head. He groaned, removing the soothing ice-pack from his face and staring at the doorknob. Whoever it was, maybe they’d go away if he didn’t answer. 

The door pounded again. 

“Go away!” Robby yelled. “Nobody’s home!”

It pounded for the third time.

Huffing in frustration, Robby got up and opened the door, making sure to keep the chain-lock in place. It was Johnny on the other side, looking pale and haggard and exhausted. 

“Hey Rob-” He started and then stopped as he looked at his son’s face. “What happened to you?”

Robby narrowed his eyes. “I thought we had an agreement. You were gonna leave me alone.”

“I don’t care about that.” Johnny replied, still staring. “What _happened_ to you?”

He tried to push his way in, but the lock stopped him in place.

“Open this door, Robby.” He said, in the dad-voice that had never worked before. “Open it or I’ll break it down.”

Robby sighed and nodded and Johnny stepped back, letting him close it again. His fingers hovered over the chain-lock for a moment, wondering if he should leave it in place.

_ Do it. Let him break it down. Then you can call the cops on him for breaking and entering. Let’s see how he likes that. _

He slid the chain open. 

Johnny pushed his way in as soon as the knob turned, forcing Robby back. He grabbed his face and turned it up, studying the bruised and swollen visage intently. 

“Who did this to you?” He asked, his voice taut with anger. 

“None of your business.” Robby replied, slapping his hands away. They were back a moment later. 

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” He asked, patting him all over. 

Robby couldn’t help but wince as fingers dug into his bruised ribs. Johnny immediately honed in on that. He tried to lift Robby’s shirt to take a look and Robby pushed him away angrily.

“Get your hands off me!” He shouted. “And get the fuck out of here!”

Johnny stepped back like he’d been slapped. He stood there, not moving, blinking and upset. And that’s when Robby saw  _ him. _ __

“You?” Robby growled at Miguel who was still leaning against the door jamb. “I told you what I’ll do to you if you ever showed your face around me.”

Miguel didn’t even flinch. He didn’t look scared. He kept staring at Robby with a sad and pitiful look on his face. Robby stepped forward, but Johnny stopped him in place with his hands on his shoulders. 

_ Kick his ass. You can take him. So what if you had the crap beat out of you already today? You know how to fight through the pain. _

“Saw you brought some muscle with you this time.” He sneered. “Think that’s gonna save you?”

“Robby, stop it.” Johnny said firmly. “We didn’t come here to fight. Miguel told me about his last visit and he brought me here because I asked him to.”

“Yeah?” Robby turned on his father now, sneering. “He tell you all about how I kicked his ass?”

“He did.” Johnny said, sadly. “He also told me how you didn’t hurt him when you could have.”

“I can fix that right now.” Robby smirked. 

Johnny ignored him. “And he also told me what you did with Kreese.”

Ofcourse, he did - that tattling SOB. 

Robby took a breath. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t like he hadn’t expected it. Diaz was like a dog chasing a car. Ofcourse, he was gonna come back. But Johnny…

“We had a deal.” Robby reminded him again. “I won the tournament. You have to leave me alone now.”

“Yeah, well, it was a stupid deal.” Johnny shrugged. “I never should’ve agreed to it in the first place.”

“Doesn’t fucking matter.” Robby argued. “You still agreed to it.”

Johnny’s lips twisted into something that looked like a smile. “All the promises I’ve broken to you over the years and that’s the one you care about?”

Robby felt the rage boiling inside him and took a deep breath to calm himself. 

_ Don’t let him get to you. Remember what you’ve learned. Reality and expectation.  _

_ That doesn’t help - I expect them to leave me alone and the reality is they are not. _

“Can we talk to each-other honestly, for once?” Johnny asked. “Can we talk without you trying to hurt me?”

_ Me hurt you?  _ Robby barely managed to stop himself from punching the guy. But Johnny must have seen something in his face, because he backtracked immediately. 

“I didn’t mean it like that. I only meant… I just… I need to know what you are thinking. I need to know what’s going through your head - even if I don’t like it.”

_ It’ll be okay,  _ Robby reminded himself.  _ There is nothing to worry about. _

This was Johnny’s pattern. His process. Every couple of months he remembered he had a son and was overcome with guilt for not being around. Then he made some half-assed attempt to “fix” things between them - and then when Robby refused to buy it, he left and forgot about his existence all over again. That’s all this was - that time of the season again. It’d last for about half-an-hour and then they’d be done.

“Fine.” Robby said, resigned. “Let’s get this over with.”

He sat back down on his chair and Johnny took the one opposite to him. Miguel hesitated at the door, unsure of his place in all this.

“Maybe I should...” He said, stepping outside a little. 

“You can stay too.” Robby shrugged. “Let’s just finish this once and for all.”

Miguel nodded. He walked inside, closing the door behind him and sat down on the edge of Robby’s bed. He didn’t look at him the whole time. 

Johnny didn’t actually know how to begin. Robby could see that in his face as he wetted his lips, cleared his throat twice and looked at him for guidance. But Robby wasn’t going to make it easier for him. He sat there, glaring at his father with his arms folded across his chest.

“I guess, I should start by apologizing.” Johnny said, more to himself. He cleared his throat again. “Robby, I  _ am  _ sorry - for everything. Everything that I’ve said and done… and not done. I was a sorry excuse for a father and you deserved better. You deserved to have someone be there for you, through everything, no matter what - and I should’ve been that guy. I failed you from the start. I like to think that I got better. That I did better with my students… but that’s just more proof that you got a raw deal.”

Maybe once that would’ve made Robby feel something. He’d often imagined hearing almost exactly those words from his father after all. But he was done with that now. 

“I won’t insult you by asking you for your forgiveness.” Johnny continued. “And… I won’t ask you for another chance either. God knows I haven’t earned that. But… I can’t let you ruin your life because of my mistakes. I don’t care if you hate me till the end. But please, stop hurting yourself.”

Robby waited for almost a whole minute to make sure Johnny was finished. 

“You done?” He asked after. “You wanna know what I think about that?”

Johnny nodded, mentally preparing himself for a lashing.

“You were not a bad father.” Robby said, calmly. “You were not a father at all. Atleast not to me.” He threw a look over at Miguel. “Even bad fathers stick around - you should know that. You were just… never there. You never cared enough to do that.”

Johnny looked down, ashamed and nodded. He swallowed thickly. 

“Robby, I did… I do care - ” He started.

“No, you don’t get to do that. You don’t get to pretend anymore.” Robby cut him off flatly. “Maybe you cared enough to feel guilty - but you never cared enough to do anything about it. I spent years hoping that you’d change - that you’d come around - but I’m over that now. We - the two of us - we’re done for good. You don’t get a say in what I do or how I live my life anymore.”

“Robby, I’m so-”

“I don’t care, okay.” Robby rolled over him. “I don’t care if you feel guilty or if you are sorry. I don’t care if you regret this to your dying day. Deal with your own shit and leave me alone.”

“Dude...” Miguel started, but Robby shut him up with a glare. 

Johnny was breathing hard. He was squeezing his eyes shut, trying to stop the tears from flowing. One escaped anyway. 

“I understand. I really do.” He said, tremulously. “But Robby - you are hurting  _ yourself.  _ Look at you. Look at what you are doing. If you are trying to punish me - ”

“I’m not trying to punish you, you arrogant ass.” Robby scoffed. “Not everything is about you. What I did with Kreese - and what I’m doing now - you are not a part of it.”

Johnny was skeptical. “Not a part of it?” He asked. “You went to  _ my  _ old Sensei, you drove  _ my  _ students back to  _ me.  _ You helped me build back  _ my  _ karate practice - and you expect me to believe that it had nothing to do with me?”

_ Well, if you put it like that… _

“Kreese was a monster.” Robby said, flatly. “I didn’t want him to create even more monsters. That’s all that was about. Everything else that happened - that was never part of the plan.”

Johnny didn’t believe him. He could see the skepticism in his face still.

“It’s the truth, alright.” Robby repeated. “I didn’t know they were gonna go running back to you. I just wanted to send them running.”

“Why?” Johnny asked. 

“Figured that was something good I could do.” Robby shrugged. 

Johnny believed him now. And he looked crestfallen once again. Robby almost felt bad for the poor guy - so he decided to throw him a bone. 

“You know what your problem is? You don’t know yourself.” Robby said plainly. “People who don’t know who they are get stuck in the cycle of mistakes and regret. I figured myself out in juvie - and you need to do the same. That’s the only way to break out of it.”

Johnny gave him a small laugh. “You sound like LaRusso.”

“What he taught me did help me figure a lot of stuff out.” Robby replied, shrugging. “It showed me how to be myself.”

Johnny went quiet, thinking about what Robby had said. And Miguel spoke up.

“Is that what you are doing? Being yourself?” He asked. “Is that what you were doing when you hurt Tory? And Hawk? And Sam? And me? And all those other people? Is that what you are doing now - fighting and getting hurt?” He shook his head. “Dude, you acted like a… like a horrible person.”

“I am a horrible person. That’s the truth I realized about myself.” Robby admitted casually. 

They both looked at him with identical bemused expressions and that left Robby confused. 

“What’s with that look?” He asked, quizzically. “I thought we all agreed on this already. I’m as bad as Kreese - if not worse.”

“No...” Miguel shook his head. “No… you are not… you put a stop to him.”

“Just because I managed to do one good thing it doesn’t change who I am.” Robby shrugged. 

“Well, doing one bad thing doesn’t change it either.” Miguel argued. “If you think that you are bad person just because of what you did to me then - ”

“I don’t.” Robby stopped him before he went off the deep end. “Doing that to you didn’t make me a monster - I did that  _ because  _ I’m a monster. That’s why no one ever cared about me - not even my own parents.”

“Robby...” Miguel started, trying to think of an argument. But he clearly couldn’t come up with anything. And Johnny continued to stare at him in growing horror. 

“It’s not that hard to understand once you learn to accept it.” Robby explained. “It’s like… there is something fundamentally wrong with me. Like I was born rotten. You guys  _ think  _ that you can save me, but the truth is, nothing can help me.”

Miguel blinked in shock for a moment and then looked away, horrified and…  _ ashamed?  _ Why did  _ he  _ look ashamed? There was no reason for that unless…

“You think so too, right?” Robby said, catching on. “You thought the same thing?”

“N-no, I d-didn’t.” Miguel stammered. “I n-never thought t-that… I just… I just said it to… I just wanted to make her feel better...”

All that stuttering… he wasn’t fooling anybody.

“I’m s-sorry.” He said, staring back at Robby wide-eyed and pleading. 

“What for?” Robby asked, frowning. “It’s the truth.”

“What happened to you?” Johnny said finally, his voice breaking. He cleared his throat again. “Something happened to you in the juvie, right? Someone hurt you?”

_ What kind of question was that? Wasn’t it obvious already? _

“Yeah - you did.” Robby answered. “You and mom and Mr. LaRusso and everyone who didn’t give a shit that I was in there.”

Johnny blinked like he was still trying to understand and Robby figured he’d have to spell it out for him. 

“It did hurt, alright. I won’t deny that. I kept asking myself why no one cared enough to be there. To even ask how I was doing. But… that’s okay. Because it helped me figure out the answer.” He explained. “No one cares because I don’t deserve it. Because I’m a monster.”

“Robby, no!” Johnny choked back a sob. “Don’t say that… don’t even think that...” He got up and took a step forward and then stopped himself. “This is my fault, okay? I screwed-up - way worse than I ever realized. But that shouldn’t make you… I  _ do  _ care. I  _ do  _ love you.”

“Like I’m ever gonna buy that bullshit again.” Robby scoffed. “If you loved me, nothing would’ve kept you away.”

Johnny closed his eyes again and leaned on the table for support. His arm trembled as he put his whole weight on it. Weakly, he slumped back into the chair. 

“What happened in there?” Miguel asked, sounding scared. “This isn’t just about anyone not visiting you. You are not telling us everything. Somebody hurt you right? Somebody in there?”

“Physically? Sure.” Robby shrugged. “And I hurt them right back. But you guys knew that already.”

“What are you not telling us?” Johnny asked. “Just tell us, okay?”

_ Should I?  _ Robby wondered. He’d come this far already. And it was all in the past already. It wasn’t like they’d be able to do anything about it. They wouldn’t take it well. Once they knew the whole truth - everything he’d done, everyone he’d hurt - they’d never look at him the same way again. 

Which was what he wanted, right?

“Okay - buckle up.” Robby said. “It’s gonna be a hell of a ride.”

* * *

The reaction wasn’t what he’d expected. Miguel kept opening and closing his mouth, as if he was trying to say something. And Johnny kept wiping his eyes and sniffing. 

Had he missed something? Robby went over it in his head - Pete’s insanity, Kelley’s sadism, Ray’s betrayal, Trevor’s stupidity, the various and sundry beatings and humiliations, the living on the edge, fending off the attacks… no - he had covered everything relevant. He might’ve missed an incident or two - but nothing important. 

“I’m sorry that happened to you.” Miguel managed to say at last.

“Dude - weren’t you listening?” Robby asked. “I took care of myself - by being who I really am.”

“No… Robby...” Johnny’s voice broke again. “You did what you had to do to survive. That doesn’t… it doesn’t make you a bad person.”

“That’s the excuse Kreese uses.” Robby said, flippantly. “I’m different from him in that way, atleast. I don’t lie to myself.”

They both looked at him, helplessly and then at each-other. And Robby found himself getting tired of the whole thing. They’d all talked their hearts out and nothing had changed - just as he’d expected. 

“Can you guys get out now?” He said. “Are we done with this whole nonsense?”

“No - we are not.” Johnny insisted. “Robby you are not a monster and I can’t… I can’t let you keep living your life like this.”

“You don’t know me!” Robby said, defensively and the words sent a chill through him. That was the same thing Pete had said to him. But he shook that feeling away. “And you can’t make me do anything. You have no control here and what I do with my life is my business, not yours. And you can’t guilt me into anything either because I don’t give a shit.”

He didn’t like the look in Johnny’s eyes. Not one bit. This looked like it was going to lead to a fight.

_ No, it won’t. Not again. You already have an exit plan in place, remember? Sure this place was nice while it lasted but you already know you can live without it. He can’t hassle you if he can’t find you. _

“Thank you Robby.” Johnny said quietly, calmly as he got up. “Thank you for doing this today. I wasn’t sure about this before, but now I am.”

Robby regarded him suspiciously, waiting to see what he was trying to pull. Johnny pulled a piece of folded paper from his pocket and handed it to him. 

“What the hell is this?” He asked, looking at it. A couple of pages were stapled together and it looked like some kind of legal document. The date on it was from a couple of days ago - before Miguel had come to see him. 

“I’m challenging your emancipation.” Johnny explained. “I started looking into it the day after the tournament. Turns out, you can’t get emancipated without parental consent - unless there are some special circumstances. I’m pretty sure whatever dirtbag lawyer you hired lied - so I’m gonna get it overturned.”

“Bullshit.” Robby said, trying to understand the papers. “It’s already done.”

“And I’m undoing it.” Johnny said. “I already filed this with the court. So don’t think that you can run away either. You  _ have  _ to show up - or they’ll just drag you there kicking and screaming.”

“You’re bluffing.” Robby said, confidently. “You just said you weren’t sure.”

“I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing.” Johnny clarified. “If I won’t just end up doing more harm than good. But the way you are right now...” He shook his head. “You are a mess and you need help. I don’t care if you hate me for this or if you never forgive me. I’ll make sure that you get out of this hole I put you in even if it’s the last thing I do.”

Robby stared back at the papers, trying to make heads or tails of all the legalese on there. Distantly he heard Johnny tell Miguel that they were going, but he didn’t look up until he heard the door open.

“Hey!” He shouted and Johnny turned around, halfway out the door already. “You  _ don’t  _ want to do this, alright? You  _ don’t  _ want to pick a fight with me. I took down Kreese. I took down a monster worse than Kreese. I’ll take you down too.”

“That’s fine with me.” Johnny replied, smiling sadly. “Maybe I deserve it.”

“I’ll hurt you for this!” Robby snarled, getting up. Then he thought of something better. “I’ll hurt someone you love for this! Don’t think I won’t.”

“You are already doing that.” Johnny told him. “Let’s go, Miguel.”

They left Robby seething in rage with the papers twisting between his fingers.


	19. Daniel I

Daniel LaRusso was not an elitist. He’d come from humble beginnings, he’d made his way up in the world with his wits and hard-work and he knew what it was like to work with his hands. Even now, despite making it big, he didn’t act like he was above manual labor. He didn’t walk around acting like he was better than the people who worked for him. 

But he was better than this… place.

The air was hot and humid and claustrophobic. The smell of cigarettes and cheap beer seemed to cling to his skin. The floor stuck to his shoes. And the crowd around him was loud and sweaty and downright obnoxious. Daniel felt like a thousand maggots were crawling through his flesh and the whole atmosphere made him want to rush out of there and stick his finger in his throat.

But he was here for a reason, so he swallowed his disgust and stood there.

_ “You have to help him, LaRusso.” Johnny begged. “Please, he needs help. You have no idea how bad.” _

_ “I… can’t.” Daniel shook his head, stubbornly. “Not after what he tried to do to Sam...” _

_ “He didn’t do anything, dad.” Sam chimed in. “You heard Mr. Lawrence - it was all an act. I always knew Robby isn’t like that.” _

_ “What for?” Daniel asked. “If everything you just told me is true, then he got what he wanted the moment he won the tournament. Why did he go after Sam? And Miguel?” _

_ Johnny had no answer for that. “Maybe you should ask him that yourself.” _

_ Daniel shook his head again. “I’ll end up making it worse. I’ll say something I regret.” He sighed. “Look, it’ll be fine. You’ll get the emancipation reversed and - ” _

_ “Who knows how long that will take.” Johnny argued. “LaRusso… I’m afraid… that he’ll do something stupid. Something to really hurt himself - something he can’t take back.” _

_ Daniel pursed his lips. “He can take care of himself.” _

_ “You didn’t see him.” Johnny countered. “You don’t know what he looks like. I think he is fighting - for money - and he is getting beat up every day.” _

_ “I don’t think you need to worry about that, okay?” Daniel scoffed. “Robby is a good fighter. If he’s getting hurt, then that’s because he’s letting them. And he is smart enough to know when to put a stop to it.” _

What a fool he’d been.

_ That  _ was what Robby was trying to fight? That… thing? Daniel had thought the moniker “brickwall” amusing when he’d first heard it, but now that he saw the guy.... He had a good half a foot advantage on Robby and was twice as wide. And he looked like he was made of pure muscle.

A child like Robby had absolutely no business being in the ring with a guy that huge. None at all. And yet, there he was in the ring, going toe-to-toe with that freak of nature.

Atleast Robby had him beat when it came to speed, Daniel noticed with relief. He was dodging and weaving through his blows, dancing all around the guy and landing hits all over the place. Robby managed to land ten hits for every one of that guy’s counters, but it didn’t matter because none of them seemed to have any effect. The guy was a… brick wall. 

Daniel’s stomach clenched as the guy reached to grab Robby with his bear paw, and then relaxed as he danced out of reach. Quick as a cat, Robby’s leg shot out and kicked the “brickwall’s” knee twice - but that only served to make the guy angrier.

He charged like a rhino and Robby moved back with him, finding the right opportunity to side-step and jump on his back. He wrapped an arm around the meaty neck and pounded his bald head with the other.

Brick stumbled through the cage, blindly, trying to reach behind him. He managed to grab Robby’s arm and pulled him off himself as one would a child and threw him. Robby flew through the air, landing on the mat with a thud and then rolled with it, getting back up on his feet instantly. 

_ This isn’t real, is it? It can’t be.  _ Daniel told himself.  _ It’s like wrestling on TV - all fake. These are all stunts. _

But the bleeding scrapes on Robby’s back sure looked real enough.

Brick closed the gap, attacking furiously, not caring how many blows Robby threw at him. He managed to catch Robby with one of his own and Daniel could practically feel the force of it from where he was standing. Robby was rocked by the impact and the moment he stood still, Bricks grabbed him and lifted him up in a bearhug.

_ I have to stop this,  _ Daniel thought, desperately, as he watched his student struggle uselessly against the grip. _ He’s gonna get his ribs crushed. I have to get in there and end this. _

_ “You should help him.” Amanda told him, as they went to bed. “He’s your student and I know you care about him.” _

_ “I thought atleast you would be on my side in this.” Daniel replied accusingly. “Weren’t you the one who told me that I had to put our family first?” _

_ “I was talking about your stupid karate rivalry.” Amanda told him. “Daniel - I was never against you trying to help that boy. I’m the one who told you to go to him, remember?” _

_ “After what he tried to do to Sam...” Daniel started.  _

_ “He didn’t do anything.” Amanda replied. “And he wasn’t going to. If Sam doesn’t care about that, why do you?” _

_ Daniel sat there in sullen silence.  _

_ “It’s eating away at you. Don’t think I don’t see that.” Amanda told him. “I don’t know if you think you are doing this to make me happy, but I never asked for this. I told you to give up karate - but not on him. So just… get your head out of your ass and go help your student.” _

Robby clapped his hands on the big guy’s ears, trying to stun him into letting him go. Then he chopped his neck with the edge of his palm. None of it worked. Desperate, he pushed his thumbs into Brick’s eyes and that let him get free immediately. Brick stumbled back, blinded, trying to clear his eyes. Robby took the chance to land a roundhouse right on his midsection - which made the guy stumble back a little more.

_ He can do this,  _ Daniel thought, both impressed and horrified.  _ That eye-gouge was pretty dirty, but this fight wasn’t fair to begin with. Robby can go toe-to-toe with that monster and he can still win. _

Bricks lashed out with a vicious backhand and managed to catch Robby right across the face. Sweat and blood flew out in an arc as his whole body swung around. Robby fell back on the floor, unconscious.

* * *

“Stupid kid’s always losing.” Zarkarian said, frustrated. “He win yesterday, I earn big money. Today? Back to losing.”

Daniel looked at him in disgust.  _ These are the guys you are fighting for, Robby? Greedy assholes who don’t care about kids like you getting beat up?  _ He didn’t say anything, though. Zarkarian had done him a favor after all. 

Daniel hadn’t known what Johnny had meant by Robby fighting for money, but the next day he’d remembered something about guys at the club talking about illegal underground fight clubs. A place where sleazebags like the Armenian went to bet on fights. It was kind of an iffy grey area - the fights were legal, the gambling was not. And that was Armand Zarkarian’s home address. 

The rest of it had still been a stroke of luck. He hadn’t expected Armand to recognize Robby from description alone.

“Scrappy-Do, yeah?” He’d said. “Small kid? Fights big guys? You want bet on him?”

Daniel had taken a chance and gone with him, pretending that he wanted to try his luck at gambling. And the gamble had paid off. 

“So, we make deal now?” Zarkarian said, eagerly. “I bring you to my club. You bring me to yours.”

“Sure.” Daniel said, distracted, still focused on the door in the corner. 

He’d watched Robby being led out of the cage by a bigger guy with clenched fists and a churning stomach. He’d thought he could wait to talk to him after he got out, but his patience was wearing thin now.  _ And what if there’s a backdoor? _

Daniel ignored Zarkarian still trying to talk to him and headed towards the backdoor like he belonged there. He had to get Robby out of there right away. If ALL of the kid’s opponents were like the one today…

A large hand stopped him just as he was about to enter.

“Sorry pal, fighters only.” A giant with a broken nose told him. “You can wait for your autograph outside.”

“I’m not looking for an autograph.” Daniel replied. “I know one of the fighters.”

“Yeah. Sure.” The guy scoffed. “Haven’t heard that one before.”

Daniel sighed. “Robby Keene - I need to see him.”

That got the guy’s attention. “You looking to make him an offer?” He asked with furrowed brows.

_ Am I? In a manner of speaking, I guess.  _ Daniel shrugged. 

“You are not taking advantage of the kid, got it?” The guy said firmly. “He’s a good fighter and he’s got a bright future - once he gets his head out of his ass. I don’t care what club you represent, you try to cheat him out of what he deserves and - ”

“What? No!” Daniel shook his head. There was obviously some miscommunication here. “I’m Daniel LaRusso.”

“That supposed to mean something to me?” Broken Nose frowned. 

Daniel sighed. He’d thought that maybe Robby would’ve told his “co-workers” about his former teacher, but it didn’t look like it.

“I am...” Daniel paused, thinking. What  _ was _ he to Robby? His teacher? His mentor? His friend? His… father? Did he have the right to call himself any of that now? “I used to be his karate teacher.”

“Oh...” The guy said, finally taking his hand off Daniel’s shoulder. “So… you here to rescue him or something?”

_ Yes.  _ But maybe these guys wouldn’t want to lose a talented fighter like Robby.

“Something like that.” Daniel replied. 

“Should’ve said that in the first place.” Broken Nose said, stepping aside. “Get in there and get that punk out of this hellhole.”

* * *

Daniel didn’t have the courage to face Robby. Not right away anyway. He hid behind the lockers, while Robby sat on the bench, trying to work up the nerve. He almost stepped out when he saw “Brickwall” approach, but the guy didn’t look aggressive. 

“Learn your lesson yet, kid?” He said, jovially. “Pick on someone your own size next time.”

“I had you on the ropes, jackass.” Robby replied without looking up. “You just got lucky. Won’t happen again.”

He squeezed Robby’s shoulder and headed off to showers, not even giving Daniel a second look.

_ He knows I’m here,  _ Daniel realized when he saw Robby’s tense posture.  _ Maybe not me specifically, but he knows there is someone here. What Johnny said about him being on his guard all the time was all true. _

Robby looked up at him in surprise when Daniel stepped out from behind the lockers. There was fear - and guilt - in those bloodshot eyes for just a moment and  then it was replaced with resignation. 

“He got to you too, didn’t he?” Robby said, shaking his head. “Thought atleast you would be smarter than that.”

Daniel didn’t reply. He stared down at the battered boy, trying to sort and prioritize the emotions rolling inside him. Concern, anger, guilt, shame - they writhed and turned, fighting for dominance, with no clear victor.

“You are hurt.” That was all Daniel was able to get out.

Robby gave him a small laugh and put his head in his hands again. Daniel saw a first aid kit beside him, open and untouched and sat down beside him. 

“Turn around.” Daniel said, gently pushing at his shoulder. 

Robby was too exhausted to put up a fight. He turned his back to Daniel and Daniel got to work. 

The scrapes weren’t that bad on their own. But overlaid as they were on top of darkening and swelling skin… Robby hissed in pain and trembled under his touch as Daniel cleaned his wounds. He tensed up whenever Daniel’s fingers pressed in a little, but it didn’t feel like there was anything broken there. Eventually, his body relaxed all the way and Daniel was satisfied with his work. 

“Let’s do your face now.” Daniel said, stepping over to the other side. 

Robby sat there, with his head hanging and Daniel had to lift his chin up to take a closer look at the damage. His eyes were watery and red and were looking at him pleading. Blood streaked out from his nose and mouth, right across his cheek and disappeared into his hairline. And now that Daniel looked closer, the other bruises there were clearly from different times - and different fights. 

Daniel almost let his face drop - but he somehow held on and started cleaning the blood.

“Why are you doing this?” He asked, not letting his voice break.

“If my dad talked to you, then you already know the answer to that.” Robby replied. 

_ “He’s messed up, LaRusso. He has got this twisted idea that he’s a bad guy and he’s punishing himself for it. He thinks he doesn’t deserve to be loved, to be cared for… And he doesn’t believe that anyone could care for him...” _

“You dad cares about you, Robby.” Daniel had to try. “And I care about you.”

Robby gave him another small laugh. “Sure. When it’s convenient.”

_ I deserve that. We all deserve that.  _

“You are not the bad guy here, Robby.” Daniel tried again. “No one is inherently bad, okay? People just do bad things...”

“I’ve done bad things.” Robby replied. “I’ve hurt people.”

“And people have hurt you. More than you deserved.” Daniel replied. 

Robby stared at him blankly. “You are wrong.” He said in a strained voice. “I deserved it.”

It was a vicious cycle. A self-fulfilling prophecy. He deserved bad things to happen to him because he was the bad guy and bad things happening to him proved that he was the bad guy.

“And what do you think we deserve?” Daniel asked. “We hurt you - you can’t deny that. What do we deserve for that?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Robby - you are staying away because you don’t  _ want  _ to hurt people. That shows what a good person you are. Bad guys don’t care if they hurt other people.”

“What does it matter what I want?” Robby snapped. “I still hurt people, didn’t I? I didn’t want to, but I still did.”

“So what do you think the difference is between us?” Daniel replied. “I’ve hurt people too. I didn’t want to, but I still did it. Especially you.”

Robby chewed his lip, thinking about the question.

“You made a mistake.” He answered finally. “But you felt guilty about it. You tried to make it right. That’s the difference.”

Daniel shook his head. How could someone be so smart and so oblivious at the same time?

“You  _ did  _ make things right. Even when the rest of us couldn’t. You  _ have  _ to know that.” Daniel explained. “And the way you are acting - don’t tell it’s not coming from guilt.”

“You are not going to understand.” Robby said, turning his face away. “And I’m not gonna bother trying to explain it.”

_ You stubborn little idiot, you are the one who doesn’t understand.  _

But arguing wasn’t going to make a difference. Not right now. They had to find some common ground first. 

“You don’t want to hurt people.” Daniel said. “Can we atleast agree on that?”

Robby looked at him suspiciously, trying to find the trick behind the question. 

“That’s why you fight guys way bigger than you, isn’t it?” Daniel asked. “That way, they can hurt you, but you won’t hurt them much?”

“That’s part of it.” Robby explained, frowning. “But the money’s better if you fight someone above your weight class. The bigger the difference, the bigger the payout. Even if I lose, I get paid more than if I won against someone my own size.”

“Why the hell would you need money so badly?” Daniel asked, exasperated. 

“To hire a lawyer.” Robby shrugged. “I need to find one to fight the bullshit my dad’s trying to pull.”

_ Ofcourse. “I’m afraid he’ll do something stupid” - that’s what Johnny said. And Robby was already proving him right. _

“You are hurting yourself.” Daniel said, still in shock. “Johnny doesn’t want that.”

“Then he should stop.” Robby replied. “He is forcing me to do this.”

“Robby...” Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. “Are you telling me that you won’t do this if Johnny backs off?”

“I won’t need to do this as much.” Robby admitted, cautiously. “I’m fine with taking a rest for a few days between matches. But now I have to fight almost everyday.”

“Robby, c’mon...” Daniel pleaded. “Look at yourself. Look at what shape you are in. Is sticking it to Johnny really worth it?”

“Yes.” Robby replied, immediately. “It’s better than messing everything up again. That’s what will happen if I let him win.”

_ Because you are a bad guy, right? Because if you let Johnny bring you home you’ll end up hurting others? But the fact that you care about it that much - that you’d put yourself through all this - that proves what a good person you are. How can you not see that? _

They were going in circles. He was not going to change Robby’s mind no matter how much he argued. Not today, atleast.

“There is a third option.” Daniel suggested. “Don’t fight. Make peace with him instead. Compromise a little - both sides give something up and neither side wins.”

“You mean… like a truce?” Robby asked, frowning. 

“Yeah.” Daniel jumped on it eagerly. 

“Always the peacemaker, huh?” Robby smirked. “Okay - so what do you have in mind?”

“I’ll talk to your dad about challenging the emancipation order.” Daniel started. “I’ll convince him to let it be - maybe even make it official from his side.”

“And in exchange...” Robby prompted. 

“You get out of this place.” Daniel said. “You come live with us. You start school again. And if you really want to fight, then we can start training together again.”

Robby frowned for a moment and then chuckled. “Your compromise sounds a lot like unconditional surrender, Mr. LaRusso.” He said. “I’m not doing any of that.”

No, that had been a long shot to begin with. But atleast Robby had shown himself open to the idea of a truce. The rest was about negotiating and haggling. 

“Alright.” Daniel nodded. “So make a counter.”

Robby thought about it. “All of you leave me alone for good and I… take it down to one fight per week.”

“Sorry Robby.” Daniel laughed, shaking his head. “Letting you stay in this place is a deal-breaker.”

“Well, telling me to give up fighting is a deal-breaker.” Robby replied. “And I’m talking about real fighting - bare-knuckle, bone-crunching fighting. I’m not going back to doing katas on a tree.”

“Why? Why do you need to keep fighting even if you get hurt?”

“Because I’m good at it.” Robby replied, looking away. “It makes me feel alive, even if it hurts. Especially if it hurts.” 

Daniel pursed his lips. It sounded like an impasse, except…

“Okay - you can keep fighting. But not here and not like this.” Daniel said. “You can join a gym or a club or whatever. And you can try to make a profession out of it.”

Robby looked surprised. “Who the hell have you been talking to?”

“Big guy outside. Like huge.” Daniel replied, smiling. “Seems to really care about you.”

“Alvin.” Robby huffed. “If he keeps butting his nose in other people’s business, someone’s gonna break it again.”

Daniel bit back a laugh. “So - not a bad idea, right? You get to keep fighting but you get something for all that pain? Maybe win a championship or two.”

Robby shifted uncomfortably. “It’s not fair. It’s not fair that I get to do that w-when… Miguel...”

_ And there it is. You really expect me to believe you don’t feel guilty after that? _

“What if Miguel’s okay with it?” Daniel asked. 

“He won’t be.” Robby said, flatly. 

_ He will be. I’ll make sure of that. I’ll tell Johnny to make him say he’s okay with it - though I doubt it’ll come to that.  _

“But if he is, then…?” Daniel prompted. 

“Fine.” Robby agreed. “Then we can talk about it. But I’m not moving in with you or anything. I’m staying alone.” 

Daniel stroked his chin. They still needed to make sure he was okay, didn’t they?

“Alright - but you come back to work with me at LaRusso Auto.” He countered. “No more fighting for money. Not until your pro-career takes off.”

Robby pursed his lips and nodded tersely. 

“I’m not apologizing to anyone. Not to Sam or Tory or Miguel or Hawk. And especially not to my dad.” Robby said firmly. “I don’t feel guilty about what I did and I’m not gonna humiliate myself for no reason.”

_ Yes, you do. But you don’t need to. _

“Fair enough.” Daniel agreed. “But… you give us all a chance to apologize to you, okay? Especially your dad.”

Robby frowned, considering it. 

“It’s fine if you yell at him or blame him… but give him a chance.” Daniel added. “Deal?”

Robby slowly nodded. And then shook his head vigorously. 

“No - no deal.” He said. “No to all of it. No to taking your job or going pro. I’m not agreeing to any of that. You can take your truce and shove it.” 

Daniel was taken aback. He thought he was getting somewhere.

“Robby - ” He started. 

“No, okay? Just no.” Robby shouted. “I’m not falling for it again. I’m not gonna buy this caring act - not from you, not from my dad, not anyone. I know no one really cares and I know why and you are not gonna convince me otherwise.”

“Robby, I’m not trying to convince you - ”

“But you are gonna.” Robby interrupted him. “As soon as you have the chance, you’ll try to convince me that I can change. That I can get close to people. You’ll start with your stupid life-lessons and tell me that I can have a normal life and friends and family. And I’m not going down that road again.”

There was something here. Something big and important. Something that might explain everything. 

“Why not?” Daniel asked. “Why are you so scared of believing that?”

“Because it  _ fucking hurts. _ ” Robby cried. “Believing that everything will be okay and then ending up alone and abandoned and  _ rejected…  _ I’d rather get my face pounded every single day of my life than go through that again.”

_ And there it is,  _ Daniel realized, horrified.  _ That’s why you  _ **_have_ ** _ to be the bad guy, right? To justify what happened… what we did? Rather than blaming us, like you should’ve, you decided to blame yourself.  _

“That won’t happen.” Daniel said quietly. “Never again.”

“ _ You can’t promise me that _ .” Robby said, insistent. “It  _ always  _ happens.  _ Always.  _ No matter what I do or how hard I try, it always ends in the crapper. And I’m not going through that again. I don’t like what it does to me.”

“Robby, I get that - I really do.” Daniel pleaded. “Blame us all you want, but - ”

“I don’t  _ want  _ to blame you.” Robby replied. “I don’t want to be angry anymore. I had to go through  _ hell  _ to get past it - I’m not doing that again.”

“Then don’t try to get past it.” Daniel said, numbly. “Be angry. And stay angry.”

Robby stared at him, skeptically. “ _ You  _ are telling me that? What would Mr. Miyagi say?”

_ Does he think Mr. Miyagi never got angry? _

“I’m not him and I’m done trying to be.” Daniel replied. “Robby - you get to be angry here. Do you remember what I taught you about that?”

“Reality and expectation, right?” Robby scoffed. “That’s how I got past it. I changed my expectations to match the reality.”

_ I did this,  _ Daniel thought.  _ I taught him a lesson he wasn’t ready to understand and he took it the wrong way. He twisted it and twisted himself with it.  _

“There was a second part to that.” Daniel said. “It’s where your anger is justified. It’s where it helps you change reality to match your expectations.”

“I tried that already...” Robby said, sounding defeated. 

“Then keep trying.” Daniel said. “Stay angry and keep fighting. You want to yell at us - at me, your dad, your mom? Do that. Keep hating us. Keep pushing us away.”

He wasn’t buying it. The way Robby was looking at him… he wasn’t ready to believe a word from him. 

“Robby - one day we will finally convince you that we are gonna stick around for good.” He told him. “Let go of your anger when you  _ truly  _ believe that - but not before that. Until then, it’s okay to feel how you feel.”

His breaths were coming in hard. His chest was heaving. He was sweating and yet there were grooprickles on his arm. His face was impassive, but Daniel could see the turmoil in his green eyes.

“No.” Robby said, turning away. 

Words were never going to solve this, were they?

Daniel stood up with a sigh, defeated. Without saying anything, he started walking away. But he tried one last shot before he walked out.

“You are a really stubborn kid, Robby.” He said, turning around. “The least you can do is have faith in that.”

Robby looked at him and frowned, waiting for the fresh attack. 

“You think you are the bad guy, that no one cares about you and you are too stubborn to change your mind?” Daniel said. “Then what are you so afraid of? You can keep believing that while working for me and while making a better life for yourself. Hell - it’s not gonna matter how many times Johnny comes around begging for your forgiveness, is it? Because you’ll still believe that he’s faking it. We can’t con you into anything unless you let us - and you are too pig-headed for that. You won’t go through what you went through before because you are too stubborn to believe that things will get better. So… what’s the harm in letting it happen?”

Robby opened his mouth to argue, but no words came out. And there was a sudden flash of doubt in those green eyes. 

“Think about it, Robby.” Daniel smiled, finally seeing a crack in the armor. “And come over when you are ready to negotiate.”

* * *

“He’ll be here.” Daniel said, confidently. 

He sat on the couch, with a glass of wine to calm himself. It didn’t help. His stomach was twisted in nervous coils. And Johnny paced the floor like a caged lion.

“When?” Johnny growled, frustrated. “It’s half-past eleven and we’ve been waiting all day.”

“He’ll be here.” Daniel repeated, wishing he felt as certain as he sounded. 

“Not helping, man. Really not helping.” Johnny said. “Did he give you a window, atleast?”

Daniel swallowed and sipped his wine. “He didn’t actually say that he was coming, but - ”

“Are you shitting me?” Johnny said, incredulously. “You told me - ”

“That he’s going to come. And he is.” Daniel insisted. “I never said he said he’d come.”

Johnny face-palmed in frustration. “And what if he doesn’t come?”

“Then we wait for him.” Daniel replied calmly. “He waited for us to come around. So can we. And if he - ”

There was a knock on the door and Daniel went limp in his chair with relief. Johnny, on the other hand, practically bounded over to wrench the door open. 

Robby was on the other side, looking sullen and defiant with his hands shoved into his pockets. 

“Alright. Let’s talk.”


	20. Miguel IV

_ Robby stood in the milling crowd, shirtless, sweaty and red-faced, as the reporter pushed a microphone in his face.  _

_ “Congratulations on your third straight win, Mr. Keene.” She said. “Or do you prefer Robby?” _

_ “Robby’s fine.” He grinned. “And yeah, it was a great match. McKenzie is a tough customer. It wasn’t easy finding an edge.” _

_ “So how did you feel about your chances going in?” _

_ “Pretty good, actually.” He replied, considering. “I spent hours studying footage from his old matches. I studied his every move, every weakness and I had a way to deal with it all.” _

_ “And you weren’t worried he’d do the same with you?” _

_ “Not really.” Robby looked smug. “I mean - I just had two wins to my name before this on record. So the guy didn’t have much to work with.” _

_ “Well, you are certainly proving yourself to be the newcomer to keep an eye on this season.” The reporter complimented. “You already have a moniker from your time before. “Scrappy-Doo”, right? Bet there is a story behind that.” _

_ “Haha… not really.” Robby laughed. “I used to be this small kid with an attitude. I was part of this club and I used to challenge guys waaay bigger than me.” _

_ “Well, you are not so small anymore.” She looked down at him, appreciatively.  _

_ Robby laughed again and flexed. And all thousand of his muscles bulged and rippled.  _

_ “Yeah - I have had to bulk up quite a bit.” He replied. “When it comes to taking a hit, there is no better defense than a wall of muscle.” _

_ “Well, our sources tell you that you used to have another nickname in the past - the Karate Kid?” _

_ “Yeah… well… that...” Robby cleared his throat and looked regretful. “That was from a much darker time in my life. And I’d rather leave it all behind. I was lucky that there were people who still cared about me and got me out of it.” _

_ “Like your father?” _

_ “Uh… no, actually.” Robby gave her a small smirk. “I meant my teacher. I don’t get along with my dad.” _

_ “I… see.” The reporter said, looking around. “Sorry, I thought we saw him among the audience tonight.” _

_ “Did you?” Robby shrugged nonchalantly. “I didn’t notice. I was focused on the fight.” _

_ “But didn't you get into martial arts because of him?” She dug deeper. “I’m sure I heard that your father runs a karate dojo.” _

_ “No - I mean, yes.” Robby fumbled a little. “I mean - yeah, he does teach karate, but I never learned from him. I’ve trained in a lot of different styles but never with him.” _

_ “Oh… why not?” _

_ “It’s not of much use.” Robby shrugged. “I mean, fighting is about more than just learning how to punch and kick and using blind aggression. And that was pretty much all he had to offer.” _

_ “Well, you’ve certainly been proving that. I hear there are rumors of certain endorsement deals being - ” _

Miguel switched off the TV and scowled angrily at the now-blank screen.

“Hey! I was watching that.” Sam said, annoyed. She reached for the remote, but Miguel snatched it out of her reach. 

“Fight’s over! Robby won!” Miguel pouted. “What else is there to see?”

“Something wrong, Miggy?” She smirked at him.

He glared back.  _ Something wrong? You know damn well what’s wrong. _

“Did he have to diss Sensei like that? In front of everyone?  _ On TV? _ ” Miguel huffed. “It’s not like karate business is doing that well to begin with. Who’s gonna come now if his own son calls it trash?”

Sam smiled sympathetically. “You know Cobra Kai doesn’t mean the same thing to him, don’t you?”

“Yeah - that’s another thing. He made it sound like Sensei was still running the  _ old  _ Cobra Kai. And  _ he joined  _ the old Cobra Kai. Left that part out, didn’t he?”

Sam bit her lip, trying not to laugh. She seemed to find the whole thing amusing and there was nothing funny about it. Nothing at all. 

“I don’t know how anyone can stand that guy!” Miguel added angrily. 

Sam burst out laughing at that. “You are one to talk. You wouldn’t be living here if you didn’t love him.”

“I  _ don’t... _ ” Miguel groaned and threw his head back in frustration.

* * *

It was a spur of the moment decision and he hadn’t  _ really  _ thought it through.

“I’m thinking of getting a place near campus.” Miguel said as he watched Robby de-shell an egg. “I could use a roommate to help me pay for it. How about it?”

“No.” Robby replied immediately. “Find someone else. Go live with Hawk.”

Miguel frowned. “Hawk’s in Portland.”

“Exactly.” Robby said. “Go live in Portland and leave me alone.”

Miguel laughed and punched his shoulder. And Robby glared angrily at his lunch. 

“Dude - it could be great for the both of us.” Miguel suggested. 

Well, it was more for Robby. Like this lunch. 

It was at the LaRusso Auto cafeteria, so it wasn’t like Robby could run away. So Miguel had made it a habit of forcing himself on the guy atleast once a week to check in on him. To make sure things were going well.

And they… weren’t. Not as well as one would have hoped for. Sure, Robby was back working for Mr. LaRusso and he was training with a new coach instead of fighting in seedy clubs. But he still wasn’t talking to the rest of them. He avoided contact with the other kids as much as possible. 

Which might’ve been fine had it not been for the fact that he avoided Sensei Lawrence as well. Johnny was determined not to give up on his son this time. He was determined to fight and keep fighting no matter how long it took for Robby to come around. And Robby was certainly taking his time. Watching Johnny get hurt and rejected like that over and over again… well, Miguel had to do something about that, didn’t he?

And he didn’t want the guy backsliding into his old habits either. Robby was downright terrifying when he wasn’t in his right mind and Miguel wasn’t sure any of them would survive another meltdown. 

No... that wasn’t it. Not really. Those were just the excuses Miguel used to justify doing all this. The truth was… well, Miguel wasn’t sure what the truth was. It wasn’t like he cared for the guy - not after everything he’d done. He didn’t know why he felt the urge to make sure Robby was okay - he just knew he did. 

“It won’t be great.” Robby replied. “I’ll kill you within a week and get the chair for it.”

Miguel sighed.  _ Well, I tried, didn’t I? Time to cut my losses. I can’t do anything if he shoots me down.  _

“Dude, c’mon. We’ve to learn how to get along.” Miguel argued. “We are brothers, after all.”

“Step-brothers.” Robby corrected immediately. “And not by my choice.”

“Well, you don’t have to be such a grump about it.” Miguel snapped. He didn’t like being reminded of how Johnny had looked when Robby had refused to attend the wedding. 

Miguel sighed and tried a different angle. 

“You know, I read this story once.” He began. “There was this monster that the villagers were all afraid of. But one day, a boy goes up to him on a dare - only to find that the “monster” isn’t so bad after all. He just lashes out because everyone has hurt and rejected him all his life and he’s afraid of getting hurt. He tries to push the boy away too - but the boy keeps coming back and in the end, the monster opens up to him. And they become best friends.”

Robby rolled his eyes at the obvious, on-the-nose metaphor. “Let me guess - the boy changes everyone’s minds and convinces them to accept the monster so everyone can live happily ever after?”

“No...” Miguel winced. “The villagers think the boy is a monster too. And the monster dies trying to save him.”

Robby laughed. “That’s a terrible story.”

Miguel bit his lip. “Well, the lesson is, opening up to people isn’t so bad.”

“How?” Robby scoffed. “The monster ends up dead.”

“Better than living alone and miserable though.” Miguel replied. 

“No - you are wrong.” Robby said, firmly. “Everyone would’ve been better off had that dumb kid just stayed out of the woods.”

Miguel sighed. “So… will you atleast think about moving in together?”

Robby glared at him incredulously. “How are you even gonna afford it? Your mom doesn’t make that much and you have college to pay for.”

“I was hoping you’d pay most of the rent.” Miguel said, abashed. “So it’d cost me less than boarding at the uni. You are the one making big-bucks working here.”

“You want to be a freeloader? Is that it?” Robby raised his eyebrows. 

Miguel shrugged, unveiling his trump card. “You owe me. For that time you almost killed me.”

Robby narrowed his eyes at him. “Low blow, Diaz.”

Miguel smirked at him. 

“It’s not gonna change anything.” Robby said firmly. “If you think you can just talk dad up to me and convince me to give him another chance, that’s not gonna happen. I’m not going through that again.”

“Ofcourse not.” Miguel said. But what he really meant was “We’ll see about that.”

“That was a mistake.” Miguel groaned. “Maybe the worst one of my life. And now, I can’t even leave because he has got abandonment issues.”

Sam looked at him skeptically. 

“It’s true.” Miguel insisted. “You don’t know what it’s like living with him. The guy belongs in a mental hospital. Or at the very least, he needs some serious psychological help.”

“He’s not doing better?” Sam asked, sadly. 

Miguel shook his head. 

* * *

He wasn’t prepared for how bad things were with Robby. Not even a little bit. 

The catatonic spells were pretty common. Robby would be going through his day, doing his thing and then just stop and stare at whatever was in front of him. He’d stay like that, unmoving, for what would feel like hours, before something snapped him out of it and he frantically looked around to make sure he was safe. 

Paranoia - that was the other thing. Both Sensei and Mr. LaRusso had warned him about that, but Miguel hadn’t expected this. Like how all doors had to be closed at all times unless they were being used. Or how atleast one light had to be on at all times. Or the whole bunch of locks he’d had installed that made even the simple act of opening the front door a whole dance routine. Or how every room had to be secured with the entries and exits scoped out before Robby could sit down. 

It was like, in his head, Robby was still in prison with guys coming after him. 

But the night terrors were the worst. 

Miguel had lost count of how many times he’d found the guy walking around the apartment at night in his underwear, sweating and shaking and completely lost to the world. He’d started checking in on him in the middle of the night and often found him sobbing in his sleep. And he often found himself climbing into bed with Robby, wrapping his arms around him and soothing him back to sleep. 

Having someone else around seemed to help. It was like, even when he was asleep, Robby could sense that he wasn’t alone and that the other presence in the room wasn’t a threat. And that made him calmer. But it was a band-aid, not a cure. 

Telling Sensei and Mr. LaRusso about it was no picnic either. 

“When did it start?” Johnny asked, blanching.

“I… don’t know.” Miguel replied helplessly. “I didn’t pay much attention at first, but...” 

“It has been happening all along, right?” Johnny squeezed his shut. “He has been going through that all this time and I had no idea.”

_ This isn’t on you. You are trying to be there for him, but he isn’t letting you. He keeps pushing you away - he pushes everyone away.  _

“It’s PTSD.” Daniel weighed in. “Mr. Miyagi had it too. He couldn’t get a good night’s rest without a few drinks in him.”

“He got better though, right?” Johnny asked hopefully.

“Yeah - after about half a century of misery, he started getting better.” Mr. LaRusso deadpanned. “But we don’t have to wait that long for Robby. We can get him help now.”

Robby refused flatly. 

“That wasn’t part of the deal.”

“This isn’t about the deal.” Johnny insisted. “We just want what’s good for you.”

Robby stared daggers at him. “I already told you - you don’t get a say anymore. And I don’t need help. I can deal with my own shit - I've been doing it for a long, long time.”

“Things  _ are  _ getting better though.” Sam argued. “I mean… there was that dinner...”

Miguel shuddered at the memory. He’d hardly call that  _ better. _

“Robby wouldn’t have accepted your mom’s invitation if he wasn’t coming around.” Sam told him. 

“He just accepted to piss Sensei off.” Miguel replied. “You didn’t see him that night - he was trying to goad Sensei into reacting.”

Sam looked at him in askance.

“Like no matter what Sensei did, Robby turned it around on him.” Miguel explained. “Sensei wished him best of luck for the match and told him to kick that pussy in the face - and Robby told him that he’d have to be an idiot to let that guy anywhere near his foot. And then he launched into this whole tirade about techniques and moves like Sensei didn’t know shit about fighting. It’s bullshit, alright. It was the same thing in the interview.”

“Johnny didn’t say anything, did he?” Sam asked. 

“No - he just smiled and nodded and told Robby how smart he was.” Miguel said, disgusted. “And then there was the sex thing.”

“What sex thing?”

“The two of them… just making out throughout dinner.” Miguel told her. “It was obscene, alright. He was doing it deliberately too. He knows it makes Sensei uncomfortable. He was just daring him to say something so he’d have an excuse to get pissed off and walk out.”

Sam looked like she was about to start laughing again. 

“It’s not funny, okay?” He stopped her before she could start. “I think there was lap-dance in there at some point.”

That set her off and Miguel glared at her until the laughter died down.

“I think that’s great.” She said, wiping her eyes.

“How?”

“He’s testing Johnny, right?” Sam explained. “He’s trying to see if Johnny’s really gonna stick around or quit on him again. Which means he’s atleast starting to entertain the possibility. That’s more open than he has been in a long time.”

Miguel pouted, unwilling to admit that she had a point. 

“That’s what my dad says, anyway.” Sam shrugged. 

Miguel scoffed. “Easy for him to say. He isn’t the one Robby is still pushing away.”

“He didn’t ignore Robby for seventeen years either.” Sam countered.

Miguel folded his arms defensively. “Things would be much better if not for that  _ bitch  _ egging Robby on.”

Sam looked at him sympathetically. 

No one could disagree on this one. Sure they had to put up with Robby’s antics - but why did they have to put up with that…  _ psycho _ ?

* * *

“Does Robby Keene live here?” The guy asked. “I’m a friend of his.”

Miguel nodded. “ROBBY! Someone here to see you.” He shouted. 

The guy was  _ really  _ good-looking. That was the first thing Miguel noticed about him. Not just handsome, but beautiful. It was the kind of face and smile you expected to see on a billboard, selling toothpaste.

“Hey, I’m Miguel.” He said, letting the hottie in. “Robby’s roommate.”

“ _ The _ Miguel?” The guy smiled. “I thought I knew you from somewhere.”

Miguel felt a warm rush at the thought of Robby telling others about him. 

“I’m Pete.” The guy said, offering his hand.

_ Pete?  _ **_The_ ** _ Pete? The maniac who’d made Robby’s life hell in juvie? _

His fist was swinging before he knew it. And Pete blocked it and used it to pin him against the door. 

“Guess you’ve heard about me.” He said, grinning.

_ Dammit. Why am I still so weak?  _

“Get off him!” Robby yelled, dragging the psycho off Miguel. He put himself between Miguel and his attacker, ready to fight, before he saw who it was. 

“Pete?” He asked, shocked. “What the hell do you think you are doing?”

Pete shrugged, still grinning. “The guy took a swing at me.”

“Miguel?” Robby turned on him, frowning.

“He’s the Pete from the juvie, right?” Miguel asked, not taking his eyes off the enemy. 

_ We can take him. I’m not as weak as I used to be and you said you beat him before. Between the two of us… _

“Miguel, it’s fine.” Robby sighed before turning to the other guy. “What the hell are you doing here, Pete?”

“Can’t a guy visit a friend?” He shrugged. “You said I could crash with you anytime I wanted. I’m here to take you up on it.”

_ What.The. Hell? Robby said you were crazy but not this crazy.  _

“Dude, you are not coming anywhere near him.” Miguel said, unable to stop himself from laughing. 

He looked at Robby and did not see what he’d expected. He looked more annoyed than amused. 

“What happened to your dad?” Robby asked. 

“We had a falling out.” Pete shrugged. “He wants me to start competing again and I… don’t. So he kicked me out. Guess all dads are assholes, huh?”

_ He’s talking about Sensei,  _ Miguel realized with his ears burning. 

“One week.” Robby said. “And you take the couch. And stay off Miguel.”

“Deal.” Pete grinned.

“ _ Are you insane? _ ” Miguel shouted, his eyes bugging out. “You can’t just move the guy in like that? We need to talk about this.”

“Well, seeing as I pay 80% of the rent, not sure what’s there to talk about.” Robby shrugged.

And that was how Pete moved in with them. One week turned into two and after two months Miguel knew he wasn’t going anywhere. Just like that, they had a new roommate. Or atleast, that’s what Miguel thought. 

He felt like an idiot about how long it’d taken him to figure that out. 

Pete was a creep. That was the problem. He got way too familiar way too fast and he looked at everyone with those hungry eyes and predatory grin. So Miguel didn’t think much of how he kept teasing Robby - how he called him “sweetheart” and “stud-muffin”. Or how he kept ruffling his hair or slapping his butt. Or how he randomly started massaging his shoulders or challenged him to a fight. 

Miguel didn’t like it - but Robby didn’t seem to mind, so Miguel didn’t bring it up either. As long as the guy kept his hands off Miguel…

And the whole “prison-boyfriend” thing was clearly an inside joke…

And the guy was obviously a party animal who stayed out all through the night. That’s why the couch was usually empty and not-slept-in in the morning…

And the time Miguel had found him in Robby’s bed… both of them in their underwear… with Pete’s arms wrapped around the smaller boy…

No, that was just about what Robby needed. He needed physical comfort to sleep properly. And since he often slept in his boxers, it was only… respectful of Pete to do the same. Miguel had done that plenty of times himself. It didn’t mean anything. And he should be grateful that Robby had another friend who was willing to take care of him like that.

It wasn’t until that day…

Miguel returned to find the front door unlocked and a chill went through him. Robby  _ never  _ left the door unlocked. 

And the state of the apartment seemed to confirm his worst fears. The couch was overturned, some of the pictures on the wall were askew, while others had fallen down and there was glass on the floor. Miguel stood there, rooted to the spot, until he heard noises coming from inside. 

“Robby...” He panicked and rushed inside. And he found him in his bed with Pete…  _ in flagrante delicto.  _

There was no other way to describe it. Robby was clinging to the guy, running his nails down his back with his arms and legs wrapped around him. And Pete’s back muscles rippled with every thrust. 

Miguel flushed red and ran out of there, shaken to his core.

“Dunno why you are so surprised.” Pete said, showing off all sixty-four of his teeth. “Robby’s hot and I can’t keep my hands off him. Thought that was obvious.”

Robby rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything.

“Doesn’t mean I like seeing it.” Miguel said through gritted teeth.

“Why not? I’m hot too.” Pete shrugged. “What’s the big deal with us being hot together? Unless… you don’t have a problem with two guys doing it, do you?”

“Ofcourse not!” Miguel was indignant. 

“So… you are jealous?” Pete mused. “Yeah, that makes sense. You want Robby too. Sorry pal - I was here first and that ass is mine. I’m not giving it up, not without a fight.”

“I don’t… I’m not...” Miguel sputtered.

“He’s messing with you.” Robby said, amused and annoyed. “The more you let him get to you, the more he’s gonna do it.”

Pete went on shamelessly. “I mean… I’m willing to  _ share.  _ If you ask nicely...”

“This guy? Seriously Robby?” Miguel asked incredulously. “ _ This _ guy?”

“He gets me.” Robby shrugged. 

“Dude, c’mon - after everything he did to you...” Miguel shook his head. “What would Sensi think…?”

He knew he’d said the wrong thing as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Even before he saw the glint in Robby’s eye. 

“He’s not gonna like this, is he?” Robby said, a little too casually.

_ Crap. Crap. Crap. _

* * *

“He’s not good for Robby, okay?” Miguel told Sam. “The way he acts - it’s how Robby used to back when he was pretending. Where do you think he learned that?”

“He seems to care about him though...” Sam said, uncertainly. 

“Oh, get off it - you don’t like him either.” Miguel reprimanded her. “It’s not right, okay? It’s toxic and dysfunctional and co-dependant...”

“Did you learn that in Psych 101?” Sam teased.

Miguel ignored her. “He’s a bad influence, okay? They hurt each-other - like, physically hurt each-other. And he gives Robby all these ideas about how he can get back at Sensei. I’m telling you, it’s messed up.”

“Maybe Robby needs to be a little messed up, right now. And that’s why he needs him.”

“Well, he used to need me!” Miguel snapped. 

And Sam started laughing again. Miguel glared at her.  _ What now? _

“I’m sorry, but - ” She said, between chuckles. “You sound like a jealous ex. Like how I did with Tory.”

“If you are not going to take this seriously, I don’t know why I’m even talking to you.” Miguel huffed, turning away from her. 

She laughed at him again, kicking him gently. Her big toe dug into his side, making him squirm. 

“Don’t pout.” She said. “Robby still needs you, even if he’s never gonna admit it. He needs all of us - even Johnny. And things are better now than they were before.”

“I just...” Miguel shrugged in frustration. “I thought things would be fixed by now. I didn’t think he’d be this stubborn. It should’ve been over by now.”

Sam gave him a sad look.

“Things will never just be  _ over,  _ Miggy.” She told him. “This is real life, not a fairytale. There is no “The End” after which we get to live happily ever after.”

Miguel sighed and stared at the clock. The fight was over hours ago. Robby should be home anytime now…

**The End...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this story is over... but I am thinking of writing a few explicit "deleted" scenes.
> 
> Let's see if people are interested....


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